I know many of you juggle more than I can ever imagine. Kids. Spouses. Busy jobs. Busy lives. Friendships. Blogging. (:>)
And yet, for each of us, what we do every day becomes the norm. Our definitions of “the norm” change over time, of course, but generally speaking, I think we all acclimate to what our lives are in this moment, and we do what we need and want to do to have the life that we have right now.
I could go off on a tangent about how I am very, very lucky to have the life that I want, and not have my life dictated by someone else. But instead, I’m going to leave you with this poem, to remind myself (and, perhaps, you?) that sometimes it’s okay to just be.
A Poem for Someone Who is Juggling Her Life
This is a poem for someone
who is juggling her life.
Be still sometimes.
Be still sometimes.
It needs repeating
over and over
to catch her attention
over and over,
as someone who is juggling her life
finds it difficult to hear.
Be still sometimes.
Be still sometimes.
Let it all fall sometimes.
Rose Cook
I hope you have some time to be still today (however that looks for you), my friends. I’ll be over here trying to take my own advice.
I have found that the imposed stillness and quiet of yoga has really helped me to just chill out about life. I am high-strung and neurotic and fitting in yoga few times a week has been life-altering for me. I don’t know how I coped with my anxiety before I started it, to be honest!
I knew someone was going to mention yoga, and I’m glad it was you. As you know, I’m also pretty high-strung and neurotic (academics, unite!). I really do need to give it a try. I’ve been really reluctant given my limb issues (2 arms, 1 leg, sigh). I probably should get over that.
For me it’s not about how busy I am, it’s about having just a little bit of downtime each day. I can do one million things as long as I get some breathers to take breaks. If I don’t then things get messy. I hope that you get some time today to take your own advice.
You know, this is a really good point, Birchie (is it okay if I call you that? I never know…). I think this might be the case for me, too. It’s the days (like tomorrow, sigh) when my meetings are back to back to back to back to back to back (I think? I might have an extra in there…) that are so draining.
Life takes a lot of juggling sometimes, and of course we are lucky in so many ways. But also, even if we are lucky, life is also really hard sometimes. Or even just BUSY sometimes.
I like the poem, good advice – Be still sometimes.
Yes, luck doesn’t mean that we’re not busy. And sometimes – for me – it is literally being still. Sitting in my chair with my eyes closed, just breathing for 2 minutes between meetings. That can do wonders (or, occasionally, make the meetings seem more endless…)
Yes to this. We all juggle different lives and expectations – I truly believe nobody has it harder than anybody else (theoretically – practically I might disagree) and it’s just about perception and how we handle what’s put in front of us. Trying to find moments of stillness though is always a good idea. Not always easy, but definitely worth it.
I like how you differentiate the theoretical and practical, San. That makes a lot of sense. The other thing I try to remember is that you never know what someone is going through, so assuming they have it “easy” is likely not accurate.