How do we fit it all in?
Today we are under so much pressure to DO so much; earn a living, bring up well balanced children, create healthy meals, exercise every day, complete the school run, commute to work, have clean undies to wear, sleep 8 hours every night. The list goes on and on…. Then somewhere we need to do the stuff that brings us joy. To me there are two clear winners: being creative or catching up with a friend.
Be creative
Creating something allows me to lose my thoughts onto something constructive and practical where I can escape the never ending lists of urgent to dos. I recently upcycled a chep pallet into shelves. Shabby chic was the aim…although my other half says I landed on more shabby than chic. Still I was pleased with the result and the process was a pleasure.
Reconnecting with an old friend
Now, as for the other, catching up with a friend. This is where I get my energy, ideas, validation and above all connectedness (is that even a word). I love hearing what someone has been up to and their stories about their latest endeavours. Peppering this with some laughter is well, the best medicine, as they say. I recently caught up with a very old friend who I hadn’t seen in over a decade and I just adore it when it feels like it was yesterday since we saw each other. We talked for several hours and seriously neither of us came up for air. How do you update someone on 10 years in your life without covering some highs and lows? Out came the kids poo stories, broken bones, middle age madness and how do you get the stubborn stains out of your kids white shirts. The world was put to rights and it felt so good. Feeling like someone else in the world understands and is happy to listen to your latest woes, all without judging. A few things happen here, you are finding common ground and you realise that someone else is going through the same, but just a slightly different colour. They too go demented when hubby complains about having no clean undies but still has no idea how to use the washing machine….or when the kids cannot seem to sit during dinner unless 25 cars have been lined up in front of their plate. The sense of belonging and you are not the only one finding life completely mental. In essence you are not alone. You feel complete and revitalised for a moment or two.
Or you could pop a pill
I recently watched a ted talk by Brene Brown discussing how being connected can aid our mental health and in a society where there is every obstacle in our way for a achieving this. We are now more medicated than any generation before us. So wouldn’t it be great if we could just do more of what we love, take some time out to reconnect with our loved ones and then stop popping all those pills? This year my goal is to do less washing and more connecting…..now I am off to the shops to stock up on some new undies.
Check out the ted talk by Brene Brown below. I found this so powerful and I hope you do too. Let us know what you think, write your comment below, I would love to hear from you.
Love to all and happy chatting
xxx
Leave A Comment