In this day an age, we are split doing many things. No longer does the woman stay at home all day with the kids, she is homeschooling; or teaching music lessons from her home; or has a daycare; or she is a soccer coach; or even has a side business. Sometimes I forget all this since it seems times have changed all so slowly. (what? it isn't 1952 anymore?) And yet, we still want to dedicate ALL of our time to one thing inparticular. In my case, I want to be COMPLETELY 100% at home, or I want to dedicate an ENTIRE DAY to my art. I have talked about this before: times are different now. We are required to have split focus. I don't believe that this requires a frantic, A.D.D approach to life. Quite the opposite. It requires us to be FULLY present in what we are doing in the moment. I have found that true satisfaction with a job or task you are doing is to be completely aware of that task (i.e. not coming up with your next blog post while you are feeding your children dinner...just feed your kids dinner, and enjoy the experience!)
Since our lives are scattered between so many things, being present is even more important. And also that much more difficult. Take being in a yoga class for instance. What is the main focus? Listening to your breath. The simplest most basic of functions can be one of the hardest to become aware of. Yet when we do allow our minds to only sense what it going on in ONLY that second, there is an incredible sense of wholeness and fullness.
Same thing applies to our multi-tasking. We must be living in the present in every task we are accomplishing to achieve that same sense of wholeness and wellness. And again...one of the most challenging things to accomplish. But during dinner I was thinking about the crisis of going to the post office yesterday and forgetting it was Veterans day which means my customers will get their packages a DAY late. By dwelling on that, dinner was a chore rather than a moment to connect! (I did realize my flaw early on, and completely enjoyed my husbands made-from-scratch lasagna...yummy:)...and seeing my daughters new found love of mozzarella cheese). But my point is, just because we multi-task doesn't mean we have to think about all things all the time. Quite the opposite. We must think about one thing at a time, and trust that will be enough.
I didn't think this post would be as long as it is: but my thoughts this morning were prompted by a blog post I read from a retailer of mine in the UK, Livy & Me. She admitted to going into teaching full time this year, and wanted to tell her customers (she is the owner of Livy & Me: unique baby gifts) that her store would still be going strong. She also referenced a site that caught my attention: Business run by humans: a site deticated to REAL LIFE PEOPLE running REAL LIFE BUSINESSES (which is most of us I think).
People aren't going to get a recording when they call you, they aren't going to get a template email...they are going to get YOU. And YOU is a busy multi-tasker full with many other facets of your life: something that you should be proud of...not stressed about. It also causes problems...like a few weeks ago when I was really sick, and spent the afternoon in the hospital...business slowed down a bit. And I had an upset customer. But once she knew I was REAL, and REAL LIFE happens, things were cool.
Being real for your customers is as important as being real for your spouse, or kids, or friends. So in a sense, what we do all day DOES fall under one umbrella: Being REAL. And oh, what a gift that is! And it can infact be a wonderful experience...but only when we take it one at a time, and live completely in the moment of what we are doing NOW. NOW is REAL. So, enjoy the now, and you will enjoy it ALL!
Happy thoughts and love!
xoxo
Sarah Jane
{Sorry! no pictures today! my picture insert button is asleep or something...guess that makes me real!}