Our good friends Kristin & Sienna just returned from Honduras, where they helped to build a classroom. Check out their blog at http://travels-dt.blogspot.com
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
A Calmer Place?
These days I've also been wondering -- is being busy just "who I am," something I should just accept and roll with? Or is my real work to figure out how to be calm. I had the good fortune to connect with an insightful life and leadership coach - Jeff Bercuvitz - who challenged me to step back and figure out why it is that I feel compelled to do so much? How do you know "how much" is enough? So when Parm talks about handling being busy with "grace" is it really that some individuals just figure out how much is enough for them, and hold the line? Are there folks out there who really achieve a sense of calm and leave time for reflection and self-nurturing? I think there are times when we have super-busy phases - almost like an infant going through a growth spurt. And as we follow our passions and explore our talents (and continue to develop relationships, uphold responsibilities and care for our families), life can get crazy-busy. But when my "busyness" leads to an overwhelming place, filled with anxiety, does it mean I've tipped the scale too far? Or does it mean that I just need to re-calibrate to a new normal? I'm looking forward to figuring out if it's time to slow down, reach inside to a explore a calmer pace. Or is it time to get comfortable with being busy and build in the time to regenerate and reflect?
On Being Busy
So, I've been thinking for a while about being busy. I've been too busy to write about it...but today is a snow day, so I have a few minutes, I think.
It is interesting to me that I am so busy. I have worked hard over the last year + to be intentional in what I am doing. Doing only these things that are important and meaningful to me. How can so many things be important & meaningful? I've been trying to figure out what to drop & I just can't figure it out.
I feel as though I've completely tapped my time management skills. By that, I mean that I could probably be more organized & do a better job managing my time, but I don't really want to. I want to have relaxed evenings with my family a few times a week. And, I want to enjoy weekend time with the kids & my husband & with family/friends.
I think the key to the overwhelmed feeling is to have a plan. I know that some of my commitments will end in May & that things will calm down considerably. Does that make it ok to be so crazy now, though? I don't know. I see people around me handle their crazy lives with such grace & I wonder how. I strive for that grace & I know that on the outside it appears that I am handling it with grace. But most don't see the moments when I'm so conflicted about what to do next or I feel like I'm not doing what I want to do with my kids or I have hard time talking to my husband b/c I'm too overwhelmed & tired to explain it all. Like right now, my son is dancing around the living room & I could be dancing with him. Instead I'm doing this or making a list of all the things that need to get done, or doing all the things that need to get done.
As always, I'm not sure what I should be doing, so I just have to make a decision & do it. I guess right now, I'll dance for a minute, then start some laundry, then clean my room a bit, shower & do some work. Then it will be time to think about lunch, finding a babysitter for the afternoon so I can go to work, & dinner.
Any thoughts? Trying to stay afloat, Parm
It is interesting to me that I am so busy. I have worked hard over the last year + to be intentional in what I am doing. Doing only these things that are important and meaningful to me. How can so many things be important & meaningful? I've been trying to figure out what to drop & I just can't figure it out.
I feel as though I've completely tapped my time management skills. By that, I mean that I could probably be more organized & do a better job managing my time, but I don't really want to. I want to have relaxed evenings with my family a few times a week. And, I want to enjoy weekend time with the kids & my husband & with family/friends.
I think the key to the overwhelmed feeling is to have a plan. I know that some of my commitments will end in May & that things will calm down considerably. Does that make it ok to be so crazy now, though? I don't know. I see people around me handle their crazy lives with such grace & I wonder how. I strive for that grace & I know that on the outside it appears that I am handling it with grace. But most don't see the moments when I'm so conflicted about what to do next or I feel like I'm not doing what I want to do with my kids or I have hard time talking to my husband b/c I'm too overwhelmed & tired to explain it all. Like right now, my son is dancing around the living room & I could be dancing with him. Instead I'm doing this or making a list of all the things that need to get done, or doing all the things that need to get done.
As always, I'm not sure what I should be doing, so I just have to make a decision & do it. I guess right now, I'll dance for a minute, then start some laundry, then clean my room a bit, shower & do some work. Then it will be time to think about lunch, finding a babysitter for the afternoon so I can go to work, & dinner.
Any thoughts? Trying to stay afloat, Parm
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