Balance

The leaves are turning, the temperature is dipping, and I’m settling in for a long winters nap….. Wait, wrong story….!

As the weather changes I find myself falling into books, nooks, and quiet moments of content.  The rain gives me chances to pause, breathe, and simply be. In these moments of quiet content I’ve read, baked cakes, and caught up on old TV shows with my cats curled in my lap. Bliss.

But as I pause and enjoy, my conscience reminds me of the work ahead; my ambition is at my heels urging me to take only a short break.

“Somewhere, right now, someone is training and you’re not. They will be stronger tomorrow.”

My ambition is at my heels is a powerful personification of how it feels to be prickling with drive, dreams, and motivation. My ambition is pulsing me forward, pushing me, chasing opportunity like a fiend.

To be a woman today is complicated; we want to be every woman – wife, mother, sister, friend, entrepreneur, business partner, chef, Yogi…. And all this we want with a perfect figure. Why do we want this? Maybe it’s because we’re worth it. Maybe it’s because we can. And yet these ambitions are pressures. Similar to the pressure teenage girls face today.

If you were here today with me, I would ask you — is this a 21st century woman challenge? Or a 21st century person challenge?

While this post can quickly evolve into a women’s rights, women’s choice, revolution type rant – today I won’t go there. Where I will go is back to balance and finding refresh in moments of quiet content….

With my ambition peeling at my heels and my heart a’flutter – what can a girl do to thrive and keep up to date on her book collection? Organized balance.  Or, “pre-organized” balance. Set goals – book reading goals and business course goals. Schedule business lunches and personal sacred time.  Set boundaries at work and none at home.

A pledge to my future self…

Next year will be insanity. I plan to finish my diploma and get 1/2 way to my degree, complete a triathlon, and go to two destination weddings and a family reunion. Oh, and work full time.

To make it up to myself, I am going to learn two things that are good for my soul:

1. I am going to give Yoga a third shot and master the breathing techniques
2. I am going to work with a Naturopath to discover what my body needs to be in a balanced state

While ambition can quietly sneak up on us like pressure, it’s important to seek balance and breathe.

“In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter. For in the dew of the little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.”