GIVING

...and upon starting this blog, I swore to myself I would update it at least once a week, if not every couple of days. "It will be a creative outlet....I will have pages upon pages of quality prose that I'll be able to print out for the kids when they're older. A "life's-little-lessons-from-mom-book", if you will....

Fast forward 7 weeks later, a cross-country move, (which is not yet finished) time away with the hubby & my owing this thing at least a half-dozen entries. I am left feeling only slightly better when I remind myself we've been a bit unsettled, making it difficult to take time out, let alone focus on writing something more than a family member's phone number that I can't seem to commit to memory.....excuses, excuses! In actuality, I realize that in taking the time to do something you love, you make yourself more efficient for all of the things you "have" to do. In taking your own personal time, (free of work obligations, social obligations, children & even your spouse) you are cultivating a happier, calmer, better you. Call it selfish if you will, but an hour for yoga, a book, a run or even your Facebook fixation is quality time, because it is something you are GIVING yourself. You spend lots of time giving to others, you may even have others reciprocate, but how many times throughout the week do you actually give something to yourself? You deserve your time as much as any of your loved ones do. If that makes you feel guilty, think about the kind of person your friends & family deserve to have in their lives. Who doesn't want a partner that's happy & positive most of the time? What child wouldn't love a parent/grandparent who has tons of energy to keep up with them in all their creative glory? Running around frazzled, chasing the clock & feeling constantly bled will never get you there. The "take time to smell the roses" thing...(or peonies, or lilies, as it suits you) is a proverb worth integrating into your daily life. Otherwise, you'll feel the same "navagating-through-resposibilities-without-the-necessary-just-me-time" that I fell prey to in the weeks past. Just start @ 10 minutes...seems like nothing, but if you are an especially busy guy/gal, it will feel like Star Wars time. Increase accordingly. Rinse, repeat & condition yourself to needing it. Some addictions are good...

Happy You-Time!



“People tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will descend like fine weather if you’re fortunate. But happiness is the result of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly.”

— Elizabeth Gilbert