I have always been a “doer”, some would call it a busy body, I like to think of it more as active and ambitious. Life has always been about the moves, the people, and the pursuit of different interests, creative paths and passions. You can follow this script all of the way back to my childhood years from extracurricular activities to baking dates with my grandmother, I liked to be busy. So, it only made sense that in my adult life this continued on, taking on projects, juggling priorities, leaving one obligation early to arrive a few min late to the next, living and dying by the calendar, so much so that planning happy hour with my girlfriends wasn’t just about selecting a day and a time, noooo! This became a calendar game of Jenga, the shifting of dates and events to try to make the sparse pieces of leftover time fit. Then, to add toppings to an already loaded sundae, sprinkle in the children. Yes, we know what that means, I had to figure out how to share my busy life with these two mini broke best friends of mine! It’s only right that a busy woman raises busy children, so, yep, you guessed it, their commitments became my commitments and we became a family of busy bodies. You may chuckle at the familiarity in my story, a lot of professionals, creatives, moms, and dads share this same story, many can relate to the daily grind, but how do we make sure that within that grit and grind, as we are balancing these busy schedules, and as we are being everything to everyone else, that we are staying connected to ourselves?
Time is something so valuable, as it’s the one thing that we can’t get back, yet we spend it so frivolously, we spread ourselves so thin that at the end of the day, we have nothing left for ourselves, just the simple desire to reset and rest. In a strange way the world has created this diluted perception of success; this robotic, workaholic that stays in constant motion and continuously sacrifices wellness and relationships in order to reach some fairytale version of eminence. Super-parents in the building you know the next layer of this, the societal belief that you can fly in with your cape and set play dates, transport kids to and from activities with the wink of an eye, coordinate the household, and manage to feel attractive for your partner or spouse, all while planning life’s next big move. Oh, and we can’t forget about the world wide web, we can debate whether this is Al Gore’s or Beyonce’s internet, whosever it is, it has managed to occupy our lives by putting work, information, networking, entertainment and socializing at our fingertips. Whether you are a professional busy body or curious web surfer, whether you’re virtually rubbing shoulders on LinkedIn and moving in the best of social media circles, or conversing with the world via the wit of your Twitter fingers, this access monopolizes our time, energy and mind space. I’m exhausted just thinking about it, yet, I’m guilty of participating in this circus act as so many of us are.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the daily grind that the sound of our own thoughts become faint and sometimes unrecognizable. We find ourselves floating through life rather than actually living life, and if we are not living life, than we are wasting the gift of time. One of my dear friends recently posted an image on Instagram from a sitting area on her sunkissed front porch, she had a beautiful view of open skies and flower arrangements; I felt as though I could feel the warmth on my face and the floral scents swimming on top the breeze. The caption below this tranquil picture said “Reading @fear.not.the.journey planning, thinking and creating”. This reminded me of just how important it is to create a space that represents peace so that we are able to connect with our thoughts, our spirit, our breathing, and our creativity. It allows us the stillness to process and give attention to our mind, body and our healing. This is where we plan, dream, and strategize, where we relax, indulge, and decompress. This space can be a corner on your porch, a den in your home, an area in your garden, or a nook in your basement, but it’s yours, and setting the boundaries for this time and space is imperative. Remember we can’t be good in the long-run to ourselves or to our loved ones if we don’t take the time for self-care. Here is the important part friends; we should do this without guilt, without distractions, and with intention. We have to stay connected to ourselves in order to stay connected to our vision, our relationships and our overall wellness. Happiness and health are wealth, and in my opinion the more accurate definition of success. Protect your peace friends.
Be well!
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