Day two of my life as a blogger! Who knew? In the middle of the night laying awake with one of the various coughing children in my house, I started thinking about ideas for the blog -- themes to consider, ideas to hash out, directions to take. It kind of felt like being up on my favorite trail in the North Hills trying to decide what route to take -- the long, meandering trail; the short, get-her done favorite loop; a trail I have never tried before?
The comments and e-mails I got about the first post made me think about the ways we all try to find out center. Some of you might not be runners at all and that doesn't matter. What I find interesting is the personal challenge of keeping one's life in some sort of balance. There are plenty of things that we all struggle against from managing a household, to that ridiculous pile of laundry to be folded and put away, to financial stress, to the crazy developmental stages of our children, to worry about our loved ones, to health issues, to the ups and downs of friendships and relationships. Finding a sense of balance and the attempt to maintain that balance is a lifelong effort. Maybe you hike, maybe you run, maybe you do yoga, maybe you pray or meditate, maybe you paint or sculpt or play golf. What you do is not really the point. Doing it is the point. Finding the time and motivation and energy to do what is necessary to keep find your center in spite of life's ups and downs -- that is my point.
Interestingly, a reoccurring theme in several books I've read recently is the fall out that occurs for people when they can't find their center and how that impacts their lives and relationships. I am thinking mainly about the characters in Freedom by Johnathan Franzen.
Well, my four year old seems to think that I have spent enough time on the computer now. So, spell check, quick edit and send this out into the world.
By the way, it is cool to know that this blog was read on three different continents yesterday!
How do you find your center?
How do you know when your have lost it?
It is easy to make comments once you set up a gmail account. I'd love to hear your thoughts! Maybe this blog is becoming a way for me to find my center?
I know when I've lost my center when my body starts to ache. Literally I begin to feel it in my muscles. If I stay up too late or let stress run my life I get tight, I get cranky, I get anxious. I begin to feel as if the world is out of control. Yesterday morning I didn't turn the computer on until 10am or so. I didn't "plug in" to stress, much of it self-initiated, self-created. I felt great for a bit. My body had been feeling tense and I was tired. More sleep. More self care. More walking and stretching. Finding our center means being present and facing the day to day struggles. It's hard but it can't be any other way to live authentically. xo k
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