Day 125 – Close to perfection

There’s nothing that restores balance to my soul faster than writing, sunshine, and music. It’s why days like today are so important–days where I can grab a notebook and a pen, a bluetooth speaker, and a cold beer and go sit out on my back patio to do a little writing, listen to some tunes, and soak up some sun. Today was sunny and 80-degrees, slight breeze, and nothing on the agenda for a change.

This is as close to perfection as it gets, my friends.

I read an article recently in the New York Times recently (The Case For Doing Nothing) that questioned our culture of busyness and whether our obsession with over-scheduling and feeling the need to always be doing something is actually slowing us down, stressing us out, and doing much more harm than good. And I’m not just agreeing with this because I selfishly want a vacation  or woke up today feeling extra tired. I’m agreeing with this because I see how much damage we’re doing to ourselves and our society by clinging to this ridiculous notion that busyness is some sort of status symbol, that running ourselves into the ground is the reason we were put on this earth in the first place.

What a crock of steaming, stinking bullshit.

We’re not here to run crazy and stress until we die. We’re here to appreciate beauty, to experience wonder, to spread kindness. We’re here to grow and learn and evolve. We’re here to connect with each other, to love each other, and to have some fun along the way.

And if we could just get out of our own heads (and out of our own way), we might be able to recognize that the secret of life is staring us straight in the face.


So slow down, folks. There’s plenty of time for all the things that matter. Everything else is just noise.

Day 107 – The F word

You know, I’d like to have a nice, long (probably expletive-filled) conversation with the first person who ever decided that failure is a bad thing–something to be embarrassed about, something to try and avoid at all costs and never, ever admit to.

I mean seriously, what the hell?

How have we deluded ourselves into thinking only perfection is acceptable, that perfection exists at all? When did we decided to start ignoring the process, to discount all the valuable things we learn when we make mistakes and miss the mark?

I’ve got a newsflash for you folks–nobody ever does it exactly right the first time.

Nobody.

And the only way to ever get it right is to figure out how NOT to do it wrong.

It’s hard though, to admit that we’re not 100% in control of our lives, especially now, living in our social media bubble where we’re constantly bombarded with everyone’s best moments.

It’s hard to own our mistakes and share our struggles when all we see are highlight reels.

But it’s the struggles that give life flavor, that make us strong. It’s the challenges we face that create us and define us and shape us into the people we will eventually become.

We have the potential to do incredible things, to make the world an amazing place, if we can muster up enough courage to try knowing that we’re going to miss the mark a few (maybe a few hundred) times.

We’ve got to experiment and fail and learn and repeat. Every. Single. Day.

So get out there and own your life. Try new things. Surround yourself with people who are going to lift you up and cheer you on and help you find the way.

You got this.

A little piece of perfection

We’ve still got a long way to go to find our new normal. That’s just how it goes when life throws so many things at you at once. And let me tell you, it’s been like some really twisted version of 52 Card Pick-Up around here since Christmas. Every time we think we’re gaining control and getting our deck stacked neatly, it gets wrested away from us and scattered all over again. But we’re holding on and hanging in there and we are actually starting to feel like we’re standing on solid ground again.

And after what we’ve been through these past few months, I’d say that’s one hell of an accomplishment.

I have to admit, though, it’s taking a little effort for us to relax, for me in particular (which seems really strange, because I’ve always been the one who is able to roll with the punches and just let things roll off). Maybe it’s because I’ve been running in high gear for so long. Or maybe it’s because my brain and my body just need a little time to finish processing all the stress. Either way, I’ve had to force myself to slow down this week. Several times I’ve had to stop myself and very deliberately shift into a lower gear, one where I could turn off all the worry and the frustration and the fear that keep making me feel way too anxious when all I really need to focus on right now is my husband and my hound and my two beautiful babies, because if there is any lesson I have learned from all of this, it’s that there is nothing in this whole world more important to me than the people I love.

Nothing.

So today, after Cadence got back from her movie playdate and we had a few hours to kill before we had to run and pick up my car from the shop, we made the executive decision to spent those hours soaking up some sun and enjoying the beautiful weather. March is spoiling us here in the heartland. And when you’re handed a little piece of perfection on a day like today, you better make it a priority to enjoy it.

And we did.

And it was awesome.

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