HOW to adjust when things have gone awry!
It's really not as scary as it sometimes feels.
Last week, I started sharing some insight into a simple and profound element of the human experience— the relationships we have with all aspects of our lives. If you haven’t read the first two installments of this three-part series, go give them a read and then come back!
Okay, now what?
Great question. Let’s explore. Like any behavior, paying attention to how we are relating to the world around us takes time.
Here are some specific places to begin the trial and error for what works for you.
Reflect on your intentions and needs in this area of your life. Are the needs you are pursuing the ones you mean to? Have they changed and you failed to notice?
Clarify the amount of space you are giving this area of your life. Too much, not enough? Is it appropriate for the season or moment in your life? This is a great place to explore cycling priorities, allowing things to move up the ladder for a time, then come back down. Sometimes, though, things stay at the top or the bottom out of comfort rather than deliberate choice.
Pay attention to the company you keep in relation to this area of your life. Sometimes the state of the sandbox is more heavily impacted by others than we realize. Is your community not holding up on their sandbox
Other elements of the context around this part of your life might be messing with the relationship. Right place, wrong time? Wrong equipment, right enthusiasm? Explore the elements that are working and which ones leave you feeling drained or mindless.
Is the ecosystem out of balance? That is, is there an imbalance in rest and activity, internal and external, play and seriousness, you and others, or drive and peace, for example.
Finally, and importantly, is there another relationship in your life that is draining the life from this one or others? Our lives are a series of intersecting circles, each impacting the others to a greater or lesser extent. Sometimes, one sandbox is relatively healthy and near another that needs some serious attention.
It’s not always so simple or as complicated as this, so stay in touch with yourself. I hope these last few days were as enlightening to you as it was to me when I first learned and began seeing my life with a little of this perspective.
Let me know, what resonated with you? What questions or comments came up as you were reading along the last few days?
As always, thanks for being here.
Love,
Blake