Above And Beyond The Call Of Duty

‘No hurry, honestly!’ read the text from at least two clients this morning when I informed them that their horse rugs were ready for delivery; washed, re-proofed and repaired by my own fair hand.

Man of the Woods always enjoys a snow challenge and offered to drive, and as the fields are too frozen for tractor work it made sense to give him something to do.

A clear rug workshop before Portugal will mean I can mentally relax and the monk at the temple would be proud of my forward planning.

I finished this little book last night – for anyone who missed this gem, here is Shoukei Matsumoto’s version of how to keep our lives more simple than modern-day perceptions may have us believe we should be living it.

While I shall take away a few wonderful tips from these pages, there are some major differences with how Shoukei lives his life to how I live mine.

For starters, all his housemates are trained to the same high standard and approach each day with an identical desire to clean, maintain and nurture.

My fellow monks wouldn’t know a dishcloth if it hurtled across the kitchen at eye level, slapping them in the face.

Unlike the temple monks who believe every item has a place and those items are indeed returned to that place after each use, my monks prefer to leave items within grabbing distance. So we have a black finger-marked bottle of Swarfega on the kitchen windowsill and I’ve learnt to ignore it. This is a farmhouse kitchen after all.

The country roads were surprisingly passable and the Isuzu Denver with it’s BFG ‘All-Terrain’ boots coped with the drifts we did find. None the size of those in Wales I see on the news tonight 🙈.

Very surprised but happy clients thanked me for my efforts. Ten years I have run this sole-trader business and customer service is very important to me. My clients know I will always try my best for them and their horse’s comfort and welfare.

And now it’s my turn… cup (or jug so I don’t run out) of milky tea, my laptop, the woodburner and an evening ahead of words… on the WIP.

The message I shall not forget from Shoukei is that being mindful of every single task we undertake will result in a clearer heart and mind.

I sent an emailing withdrawing membership from a local book club which I had not enjoyed for some meetings and the pressure I felt to complete the reads had niggled for some time.

Life is short, sometimes shorter than we assume. I wish to spend my non-business time doing tasks I enjoy. Blogging and chatting to you is one task I refuse to give up. I’ve only really started and I adore your company.

My book and it’s progression is another task I am enjoying and hope 2018 will see its first draft completion. I know you want me to do it and now I want to show you I can. A shared goal is a great driver – something Shoukei knows all about. 🌸

<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/above/”>Above</a&gt;