Being a "Renaissance woman" presents challenges... there have been many times when my multiple pursuits have seemed to compete with one another: why start a stained glass project or even think about my novel when I have a dissertation to write -- shouldn't I channel all the creative energy into one project? Why expend all this energy running long distances and pushing my limits when my children need me -- shouldn't I just run for fitness and forget about marathoning so I can spend an extra hour or two a day with Ian and Lilah?
I've found myself wondering if there isn't some sacrifice I should make in one area in order to accomplish something meaningful in another. It would make sense, wouldn't it? Life would be linear and logical, right?
But here's where the composition teacher in me picks up her red pen and says: Yo! "Accomplish something meaningful?" Really?! Let's try on a different verb... how about "experience something meaningful"...?
Linearity and logic are fine for math and argumentation, but not for living... not for feeling the fullness of being in a given moment. Isn't that what happiness is? Not something to be pursued (sorry, founding fathers!) but something to be grown?
I restarted a long-neglected meditation practice recently. The awareness I'm cultivating hints that all of these various activities in which I've been engaging are actually part of a coherent something-or-other. As I learn to be more fully present, these seemingly separate strands of experience prove to be intricately connected.....
Welcome to the blogosphere, Kathy! And remember, the more you do, the more you do.
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