Today’s post is inspired by this quote:

“A library is a medicine cabinet. What can heal one person may not work at all for somebody else” Sandra Cisneros

A ‘bookworm’ since my childhood this caught my attention. Today I’ll share a little about the inspiring books I’m currently reading, plus the book I’m listening to and I’m keen to discover what books are most meaningful to you.

It may not be ideal focus however I have 4 books I’m dipping in and out of currently.

I picked up “The Perfectionist’s Guide to Losing Control” by Katherine Morgan Schafler https://www.perfectionistsguide.com/ as I raced through the Melbourne airport one evening from one gate to another to board a connecting flight. I love book shops, in this instance I had very limited time and this fantastic read jumped off the shelf. I’m two thirds of the way through, and it’s littered with highlights, exclamation marks and even notes in the margin – that’s an indication on how much it resonates.

While on holidays my sister recommended “Making Space Clutter Free” by Tracy McCubbin https://www.dclutterfly.com/books-by-tracy  She had wisely borrowed several books from her local library on decluttering and this one was the most useful. I’ve skimmed through the whole book and reread several pages as I’ve attempted to make some slow shelf by shelf progress in my home. Its key to success is naming and addressing the top obstacles to getting rid of clutter, and their emotional roots. The only downside is that some of the real life scenario’s Tracy describes are so extreme it makes my home look meticulous. I read about peole whose bedrooms are so cluttered they sleep on the couch in the living room and think “ I don’t have such a big problem after all”.

As I’ve mentioned in earlier blogs, I participated in Mindful in May. This awesome program on mindfulness and meditation prompted me to reach for Dr Elise Bialyew’s book “The Happiness Plan”https://affirmpress.com.au/publishing/the-happiness-plan/  I’d bought it several years earlier and read most of it. It’s the Mindful in May program in book form and as my intention is to continue a regular mediation practice I decided that rereading it would support my intention.

Finally, I’ve been dipping into several Lonely Planet guides as we map out an adventure for later in the year. In past travels I’ve found them invaluable in planning successful overseas trips.

Then there is Audible, the app. As I live a minimum fifteen minutes rural drive to anywhere this enables me to digest books in time that is otherwise less productive. Now I am listening to Marc Lesser’s new release, “Finding Clarity” https://marclesser.net/books/finding-clarity/. During a recent week when several curve balls hit me with force, the chapter titled “Drop the Story” has been on repeat, and I mean on repeat. Marc reminds us that there are events and there are our interpretations of those events i.e. the stories we tell ourselves about those events. If we develop self-awareness of the stories we tell ourselves, we are more likely to uncover our limiting or mistaken beliefs and learn how to let the stories go or revise them if they are not serving us. He goes into detail on how to do this – if this sounds intriguing, I encourage you to read this excellent book for yourself.

I wonder what books are front and centre in your literary “medicine cabinet”? Do you read one book at a time or multiple? What are you reading right now? What was your favourite childhood book? I’d love you to share in the comments below.

For the record my all time favourite childhood book was (and still is) Pippi Longstocking.

Wishing you a week filled with the best stories,

Esyltt