As we
all know it is easy to get caught up in the anxieties of life. Between work and family responsibilities we can
get distracted and forget about what is really important. Work is important because that is how we pay
our bills. It is also a place where we
interact with the rest of the world.
It’s a great opportunity to learn about the world outside of our own
personal familial experiences.
Interacting with people who are different from you is a great way to
grow. Your work world can teach you
about cultures or causes that you would not be exposed to in your own
neighborhood. Last but not least it’s a
great way to learn additional skills that will help you in your future to move
ahead, personally and professionally.
Taking
care of family is another part of our daily activities. Whether you are taking care of your children,
adult parents, or other relatives it can leave you tired. We love our family members but it can be a
strain to keep moving without letup. Not
giving yourself a chance to “stop and
smell the roses” or a least a time to catch ones breadth.
Taking
time to regenerate is a part of the spiritual and emotional growth cycle. We are not built to keep going until we break
down. This system keeps telling us that
we should be multitasking, work towards being “perfect,” working overtime,
drink energy drinks to stay on top of everything and spend less time with
family because of workplace demands. I
do not see any messages from society telling us to slow down and
regenerate. Technology is moving faster
and faster and even the children must have the latest gadgets. Now we can just text each other. Texting allows us to communicate without the
warmth face to face offers and miss certain nuisances that enhance the
communication process. I’m definitely not saying texting is a bad thing. I just see that it is taking the place of so
much of our communication today.
One
week in particular I was overwhelmed.
Everything that could go wrong did.
After a while, I did not want to deal with any of these challenges. I wanted a break. One night, I called a friend or two and was
distracted for a minute or two but it did not help. It was late on a Sunday night and another
friend of mine also had challenges. We
talked on the phone for a while and she invited me over. I thought “go anywhere on a Sunday night, what
the heck.” I went to her house with
another friend and we had a wonderful time.
We had tea, talked about ourselves, what we were doing (outside of our
challenges), we shared family memories and funny antidotes about life. We laughed a lot and talked about projects we
were anxious to try. When we left her
house that night, we all became closer as friends and started to think twice
about our heartfelt projects.
When I
went home my challenges seemed more manageable.
I think sometimes you have to step back and take a deep breath AKA smell the roses. I believe a relaxed
mind is a creative one. After that night
I realized that I have to plan my “smell
the roses” moments often. It can be
anything. Sometimes, just get out of the
house and expose yourself to a more pleasurable experience. It can be the movies, the theatre, ice
skating, tea time, cooking and dinner at a friend’s house, an impromptu pizza
party, or movie night at home with
friends. It does not have to cost
anything – just downtime. This will help
you stay focused and see your challenges more clearly and more manageable. It will also help you find creative solutions
to your issues. It will also give you a
great personal life with family, friends and yourself. Let’s face, it balance is one of the things
that makes life worth living.
