Fitting it all in

Life is supposed to be a grand adenture but sometimes it feels like  am just trying to fit everything in that everyone else wants to do or wants me to do. Being a woman can be like a commitment to service and this wasn't what I expected family life to feel like. So how do I go about meeting the needs of each family member and somehow meeting my own needs?

There is no easy answer to this question. Firstly, I think that the expectations presented through advertising diminish the meaning of day-to-day living. Claiming that 'we deserve it' 'me time' etc is mostly unrealisitc for most women struggling with children, partners, working, housework, and sleep. Ideas of how we should look and therefore where we fit in more time for exercise, are also another thing we hae to do. It is difficult to know just what is really important to ourselves personally, individually. 

Getting clear about what is meaningful to you youself is the first step. Do I need to work? Can we live more simply and I just work less? Can the children do less activities so that we just hang out at home more often? Can I go for a walk/run/ride just because I feel free in these moments rather than obliged to lose/maintain weight? Who am I when I am alone with myself and do I enjoy who I am? How do I keep my mind interested in life while I have to wash up/vacuum/scrub the toilet? and then do it all again? 

The answer for me is to be mindful of what I am doing and to take moments of fresh air, to look out at the sky and just breathe in and appreciate. I cannot remember to do this all the time, but when I do I feel free and alive and completely ok whereeer I am.

Express yourself

"Express what you've got, oh baby, ready or not" Madonna

In the constant hecticness of life how do you find time and space to express your inner longings and creative push? How can we trickle out our desire for beauty and immersion when there are school lunches to make and socks to hang out on the line?  I struggle with this all the time. When I manage to really immerse myself in my ideas, the family suffers and can't deal with it. My children become incredibly emotional and my husband gets tense and worried. So how to be here and there at the same time is difficult. I am learning to try and make do with 5 minutes a day. Just me and whatever  can create in this time. I carry my notebook with me, a pen and even my phone camera work just fine for creative production. It's about definition and breaking sown boundaries, about being where I am at right now. Creative energy can also flow through connecting with my daughters and spending time being with them and really noticing them and what they are doing. They are my most beautiful ideas and when I truly look at them I fell this and respond internally with a sense of "all is right" and fulfilment.