Balance.
Ah, balance.
That utopian state of perfection, where we eat just as much as we need. Where we sleep eight hours a night, work eight hours a day with many breaks between work, ideally every hour or two, to total eight hours of relaxation and self care before next bedtime. Where we spent equal amount of time hanging with friends and family and being on our own, meditating, doing yoga, writing, painting, exercising.
Yes, that.
In the world where everything seems to pull us in all directions and 'off balance' is the norm we go to bed at night with and wake up into next morning, just to keep swaying more and more into stress, burnout, dissatisfaction, desperation and way too often – depression.
Now, one may say, wait: the nature is only going to be in perfect balance for one day and night, then the darkness is taking over for the winter to come.
Correct, but let us not mix balance and natural cycles. And exactly because the 'winter is coming' we need to try and see what in us needs to be balanced in order to face those 'white walkers' of our souls that just love to haunt us in long winter nights and especially around New Year's Eve. You know those: 'What have I achieved?', 'Am I good enough?', 'I need to work harder?', 'I should sleep less?', 'Don from accountancy has bought new car, I am joke of the office with the old one.' And so on.
But how to balance in the world where everything is set to test us, pull and push us and things are changing so damn fast we can barely follow.
Well I think we should copy nature.
First, let things go. Like a yellow leaves into the wind.
In the coming rainy days and longer evenings, sort out what has became dead weight, any projects or aspirations that you feel you can not pursue at this moment, just leave it and focus on brewing new stuff that will soon sprout as new leaves in a springtime.
Two, take care of ourselves. Like sleeping animals in winter.
Take that freaking nap, you deserve it. Find time to eat when you are hungry, don't starve yourself and then overeat usually on unhealthy food. When you feel pain in your back, get up, stretch, exercise. And if someone pushes you into something when you already have plenty on your branches, dump on them a snowfall like threes do when you disturb their winter snow balancing show.
Now don't think I master all this as I don't, I need to follow my own advice as well.
But why should we do that?
Well, because we are setting standards for us and those around us.
We live in a crazy world, everything goes faster and faster: achieve more, sell more, sleep less, eat faster, party hard, work harder, get up at 4am to exercise, you are not skinny enough, you are not good enough...
Come on, nature is going to slumber herself in a clinical death in next six months.
How much faster can we go?
Real life example?
I have changed three jobs in less then a month.
Why?
I didn't like them.
On the worst one of the first two, a receptionist position in posh restaurant (sound amazing, right?), they were expecting me to work 8-10 hours, not have lunch break and ideally not go to toilet. Answer every phone call, check guests in and out, do some light accountancy work, serve breakfast when on morning shift and help serving dinner when on late one. Learn 5 pages vine list (most of it I don't even know how to read) and do all that for minimum wage.
How do they expect all this? Well, current receptionist is able to do it. She is in her early twenties and, just my feeling, a bit enamoured with the restaurant owner. That explains her enthusiasm, I still don't know how she can hold not going to toilet for over 8 hours, but I am 38 and I can't. But the point is: she has set impossible standard to fit into. They moan how they are losing receptionists one after another within months or weeks of trial period. Oh dear, what could possibly be the problem.
So, when asking yourself why to go easy on yourself, think about it this way: it is good for you, and it is good for all around you.
It's a win-win, and when it's win-win,
that's when Magic can begin...
Magically yours,
Vanja
Photo by: Martin Ingley
Ah, balance.
That utopian state of perfection, where we eat just as much as we need. Where we sleep eight hours a night, work eight hours a day with many breaks between work, ideally every hour or two, to total eight hours of relaxation and self care before next bedtime. Where we spent equal amount of time hanging with friends and family and being on our own, meditating, doing yoga, writing, painting, exercising.
Yes, that.
In the world where everything seems to pull us in all directions and 'off balance' is the norm we go to bed at night with and wake up into next morning, just to keep swaying more and more into stress, burnout, dissatisfaction, desperation and way too often – depression.
Now, one may say, wait: the nature is only going to be in perfect balance for one day and night, then the darkness is taking over for the winter to come.
Correct, but let us not mix balance and natural cycles. And exactly because the 'winter is coming' we need to try and see what in us needs to be balanced in order to face those 'white walkers' of our souls that just love to haunt us in long winter nights and especially around New Year's Eve. You know those: 'What have I achieved?', 'Am I good enough?', 'I need to work harder?', 'I should sleep less?', 'Don from accountancy has bought new car, I am joke of the office with the old one.' And so on.
But how to balance in the world where everything is set to test us, pull and push us and things are changing so damn fast we can barely follow.
Well I think we should copy nature.
First, let things go. Like a yellow leaves into the wind.
In the coming rainy days and longer evenings, sort out what has became dead weight, any projects or aspirations that you feel you can not pursue at this moment, just leave it and focus on brewing new stuff that will soon sprout as new leaves in a springtime.
Two, take care of ourselves. Like sleeping animals in winter.
Take that freaking nap, you deserve it. Find time to eat when you are hungry, don't starve yourself and then overeat usually on unhealthy food. When you feel pain in your back, get up, stretch, exercise. And if someone pushes you into something when you already have plenty on your branches, dump on them a snowfall like threes do when you disturb their winter snow balancing show.
Now don't think I master all this as I don't, I need to follow my own advice as well.
But why should we do that?
Well, because we are setting standards for us and those around us.
We live in a crazy world, everything goes faster and faster: achieve more, sell more, sleep less, eat faster, party hard, work harder, get up at 4am to exercise, you are not skinny enough, you are not good enough...
Come on, nature is going to slumber herself in a clinical death in next six months.
How much faster can we go?
Real life example?
I have changed three jobs in less then a month.
Why?
I didn't like them.
On the worst one of the first two, a receptionist position in posh restaurant (sound amazing, right?), they were expecting me to work 8-10 hours, not have lunch break and ideally not go to toilet. Answer every phone call, check guests in and out, do some light accountancy work, serve breakfast when on morning shift and help serving dinner when on late one. Learn 5 pages vine list (most of it I don't even know how to read) and do all that for minimum wage.
How do they expect all this? Well, current receptionist is able to do it. She is in her early twenties and, just my feeling, a bit enamoured with the restaurant owner. That explains her enthusiasm, I still don't know how she can hold not going to toilet for over 8 hours, but I am 38 and I can't. But the point is: she has set impossible standard to fit into. They moan how they are losing receptionists one after another within months or weeks of trial period. Oh dear, what could possibly be the problem.
So, when asking yourself why to go easy on yourself, think about it this way: it is good for you, and it is good for all around you.
It's a win-win, and when it's win-win,
that's when Magic can begin...
Magically yours,
Vanja
Photo by: Martin Ingley