Today’s entry is really a continuation of yesterday‘s posting. The bedroom overhaul proved to be just a bit too much for one day–and there didn’t seem to be much point in staying up all night, frantically trying to simplify my life….

But I got close. I tackled the majority of the clutter–the piles of stuff everywhere that kept me from spending time in the room other than between the hours of  midnight and 6am. So I called it a day with the promise to myself that I would complete the job sometime this evening after work.

But today’s focus wasn’t just about getting to that final pile of clothes in the corner of the room. It was about sustaining the commitment I had made to make that room a place of refuge. In this instance, close enough just wasn’t good enough.

I am not talking about being a perfectionist, or giving into some flavor of OCD tidying (trust me–I’d have a long way to go before I hit that threshold). Rather, in making sure I sustained yesterday’s efforts into today, I am trying to call my attention to this year’s focus on simplicity and deliberate living not as a collection of singular gestures, but as an ongoing daily practice: a discipline.

And there’s a simple pleasure, I think, in this sort of discipline. I’ve managed to sustain a sense of order and purpose in our living room, for example, and I am truly enjoying those quiet moments in the morning in that space. And come to think of it: I have managed to  sustain a practice of quiet sitting every morning for just about a month now–much to my own benefit.

So today’s focus is a reminder that maintaining order and purpose in my home is really no more chore than similar practices, such as quiet sitting every morning.

Sustaining attention to these simple details is a reward in itself.