I was recently in a store looking for a “Get Well” card and I came across a card which read: “I had to give up so much of who I was in order to become who I am now…..” and that started me to think. What have I given up to be who I am now? What have I given up to be where I am now? What about you?
It is my experience that when we make a decision in our personal lives and in our professional lives most of the time that decision changes something and sometimes that something is really big.
Spring has come to most of the US now and our children are getting restless of being held captive in a classroom as we are as adults being held inside all day in a cubicle and we long to shed our coats and heavy clothing and lighten our burden and let the warmth of the sun warm our faces and let our toes breath again.
As you sit there on the park bench watching your children frolic think about the title of this blog and reflect on what you have given up to be where you are today. “Giving up” something is not a bad or wrong thing and in fact many times it is for a nobler reason or for the good of others that we do these things.
However, if you have given up the best part of who you are, that part of you from which your very soul springs, I encourage you to reclaim that part of yourself and block out time to introduce yourself to yourself again. If you love to paint, simply find a set of finger paints your children have abandoned and start to paint a simple flower blooming in your garden or a bird feeding. If you are a writer, take a sheet of paper to a sunny spot and begin to just free write whatever comes into your mind and only stop when you have no more to say. If you love to fish, to hike, to swim, to sing or whatever it is, go and do that thing you love even if it is only for an hour to begin to fill that gaping hole in your soul. What you will find is that your entire spirit will lift and your outlook on life will completely change.
If there are members of your family who seem to be down or just not happy, I encourage you to look to see if maybe this may be what is troubling them. Often as wives we want so much of our husbands that we do not give them the space and time they need to replenish their spirits. If they want to play golf; let them. It is great exercise and it get the man out in fresh air and clears his head. He will be better able to be mentally tuned to you when he comes home. If you have a child who needs quiet time to read or play; let that child have his/her solitude. Don’t force a child to be a social butterfly if it’s not their nature. The same is true in the reverse. Family time is also key. That means no electronics, just family. Help another family or a cause out for a weekend as a family.
