Balance

One of the greatest challenges we face is keeping our life in balance.  It is so easy to allow one area of life to overwhelm the rest.  In most cases, when that happens, it is the area of work overwhelming our lives.  Most people recognize the value of setting goals and prioritizing tasks in relationship to work.  Many places of business pay a lot of money to bring in motivational speakers and give their employees time off to emphasize the value of developing clearly identified goals and charting a course toward reaching them.  Unfortunately, many of us who have set goals for work have failed completely to apply the same principles to our lives as a whole.  We talk about the importance of family, self-care, and personal dreams, but because we have not set goals and identified how we are going to reach those goals outside of work, our actions fall far short of our talk.  If we want to look back over the course of our lives and see that we have accomplished those things we drempt of accomplishing, we need to take time now to chart our course.

This week, I will set goals and priorities for my personal life.  I will bring those goals together with my professional goals and identify overall priorities.  Finally, I will dedicate time each week to reaching my personal goals.

Read Full Post »

Self-Care

How will I Nourish Myself Today?

            I can often trace the way I feel to the way I have eaten,  
whether or not I have shared intimacy with those I love, and whether  
or not I have had adequate rest.  If I have followed the old adage  
which advises that I should never get too hungry, lonely, or tired, I  
will likely find that I feel better emotionally, physically, and  
mentally.  Likewise, my spiritual well-being depends greatly upon my  
willingness to care for my spiritual needs.  If I create periods of  
solitude and stillness throughout my day, if I find ways to be of  
service to others, if I take in the beauty around me and the wisdom  
expressed to me, I will be well.  I will know peace and pass it along  
to those with whom I share this day.  I will recognize the  
opportunities I am given to share my gifts, and I will appreciate  
those opportunities as the means through which I fulfill my purpose  
and find meaning in my life.  Self care is not self-indulgence, but  
the conscious decision to nurture awareness and right relationship  
with God and with others.

I will take time to sit still and reflect, time to care for one other  
person, time to drink deeply of nature’s beauty, time to read and  
listen to the wisdom of others.  I will not see this effort as a task  
to be accomplished but as I gift I give myself so I might have a gift  
to give.

Read Full Post »