I like inspirational desk calendars. Today's calendar blurb, brought you you by Lucille Ball, is: "Love yourself first and everything else falls in line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world." Because I'm a believer in the power of positive thinking, I encounter similar sentiments all the time. Love yourself. Don't do things that you don't enjoy. Life is short, live each day the way you want to. Yes, yes, and yes.
The rub is that sometimes I have a hard time reconciling such messages with the fact that I'm a reluctant grown-up with adulting to do. If I had it my way, I wouldn't spend ANY time tied to a desk. I would be out doing things - seeing new places, meeting new people, relaxing with my toes in the sand, digging with my hands in the dirt, discovering new vistas and going on grand adventures. In reality, I don't do any of that because adventure requires money that I don't have and time away that I'm not afforded. Plus, there's always the matter of paying for the roof over our heads, the food in our bellies, and the clothes on our backs.
How can we reconcile the primal need for self-fulfillment with the realities of doing what grown folks are supposed to do, day in and day out? I don't have the answer, but I know that the struggle to figure it all out will be easier if we're a little bit easier on ourselves. When I'm stuck in a rut of doing something that I don't enjoy and that I feel is a total waste of my time, I get overwhelmingly POed. I let the grumpiness overtake me to the point where I'm not only unpleasant to be around, but I'm pretty sure other people want to throw Snickers at me in the hopes that the candy will be transformative.
I don't know if Lucy is right that loving ourselves will make everything else fall in line. I've never been in a position to test her claim because every time stuff feels out of whack, I am far from loving myself. I'm irritated, irritable, and irritating. I bet you've been in a similar boat once or twice in your life as well. I'm going to try to do better, and cut myself some slack. While adult responsibilities aren't a ton of fun, I'm still a cool chicka-dee who manages to do what needs to be done, day in and day out. Keeping my head above water is something worth celebrating. You're worth celebrating, too. Go forth and be good to yourself, and maybe, just maybe, everything else will fall in line. I've got my fingers crossed for us!
The rub is that sometimes I have a hard time reconciling such messages with the fact that I'm a reluctant grown-up with adulting to do. If I had it my way, I wouldn't spend ANY time tied to a desk. I would be out doing things - seeing new places, meeting new people, relaxing with my toes in the sand, digging with my hands in the dirt, discovering new vistas and going on grand adventures. In reality, I don't do any of that because adventure requires money that I don't have and time away that I'm not afforded. Plus, there's always the matter of paying for the roof over our heads, the food in our bellies, and the clothes on our backs.
How can we reconcile the primal need for self-fulfillment with the realities of doing what grown folks are supposed to do, day in and day out? I don't have the answer, but I know that the struggle to figure it all out will be easier if we're a little bit easier on ourselves. When I'm stuck in a rut of doing something that I don't enjoy and that I feel is a total waste of my time, I get overwhelmingly POed. I let the grumpiness overtake me to the point where I'm not only unpleasant to be around, but I'm pretty sure other people want to throw Snickers at me in the hopes that the candy will be transformative.
I don't know if Lucy is right that loving ourselves will make everything else fall in line. I've never been in a position to test her claim because every time stuff feels out of whack, I am far from loving myself. I'm irritated, irritable, and irritating. I bet you've been in a similar boat once or twice in your life as well. I'm going to try to do better, and cut myself some slack. While adult responsibilities aren't a ton of fun, I'm still a cool chicka-dee who manages to do what needs to be done, day in and day out. Keeping my head above water is something worth celebrating. You're worth celebrating, too. Go forth and be good to yourself, and maybe, just maybe, everything else will fall in line. I've got my fingers crossed for us!
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