What's your touchstone when you feel like the usual suspects are dragging you away from your equilibrium point? ...when you slip from that ideal homeostasis where everything isn't easy per se, but you feel like you can readily handle anything that's being thrown your direction?
For me, and as I suspect it is for most people, the simple answer when it gets really bad is plain old, tried-and-true prolonged rest. A week on a beach somewhere. A long weekend in a cabin in the woods with my dogs. A roadtrip to see a friend who lives x states away.
While there's no substitute for the real thing, I've spent the entirety of my adult life trying to create the conditions in Everyday Life so that restoring that balance is Action Item #1 on the agenda. Building in some "protected time." A great workout. A massage. Meditation. My sister and a number of good friends all swear by yoga, and you know, I'm starting to see the power of it for myself, too.
The point is, it takes ACTION to get back on track. When I'm working with a client who's struggling with balance, or what one of them calls "just dealing," I often refer to this process of doing/creating/finding/making something work for you as Sourcing Your Own Peace.
On Monday morning, my husband and I are taking a huge step forward toward making the option of a "Getaway" happen more often, more readily for us. We are buying some beautiful acreage about an hour and a half from our home to build our own little escape -- 24 acres for our own version of Walden, complete with a cabin next to a pond. We're both very excited and can't wait for the adventure of making this spot all our own. And I look forward to sharing our plans and progress here with friends and family.
Redefining what a life well-lived looks like
Check out this TED talk from Nigel Marsh on work-life balance. Brilliant stuff.
"So many people talk so much rubbish about work/life balance.... The first step in solving any problem is acknowledging the reality of the situation you're in. And the reality of the society that we're in is there are thousands and thousands of people out there leading lives of quiet, screaming desperation where they work long, hard hours at jobs they hate to enable them to buy things they don't need to impress people they don't like. And it's my contention that going to work on a Friday in jeans and a tee shirt isn't really getting at the nub of the issue."
"Cause they know and so do I
The high road is hard to find
A detour to your new life"
- Broken Bells "The High Road"
Thursday, March 1, 2012
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