enough(ness)
a glimpse into evening work + play
This week is full of days that are "just us girls." Work has Jon away many evenings and unexpectedly out of town all day Saturday. This means the overwhelm continues to wait in the wings, hoping for its cue. As I sit with the reality that a cold arrived last night and has decided to stay for a bit, I am sifting through my self-care moves to see what might work for me today as I know I have to cross off things on my "must be done today" to-do list.
As I mentioned in my video post earlier this week, I have been thinking a lot about this illusion people have when they ask, "How do you do it all?" I am still not sure what "it" is exactly, but this is what I am thinking about this morning: A big part of this illusion of someone else "doing it all" has to do with how someone observing another fills in the cracks with assumptions.
And in the blogging/social networking world many of us "live" in, the observations another makes are just a tiny slice of what is real. Just a tiny slice of what someone puts out into the world. And we put our own spin on what we see and read and hear as it goes through our own filter. I think part of what pushes people away from connections that are made in this blogging community is that they feel the weight of the assumptions others are making about them, and perhaps, even more than that, they feel the weight of the assumptions they are making about others.
As I hear Ellie stirring and begin to slip into yet another role I will play today, I want to echo the words I said in Tuesday's video because I need to write them here to remind myself: Being enough does not mean doing everything. Being enough does not mean doing it all.
Let's be gentle with one another today. Let's be gentle with ourselves. Let's release our grip on the shoulds and the assumptions. Let's listen to what we most need and love ourselves so that we can live from a place of open-hearted love as we move about the world. Let's try to live from a place where we believe the people we meet, where we believe we, are already enough.
whole(ness) in real
Reader Comments (11)
AMAZING post. Once again you have pinned it down and translated it so gently.
Pure truth. I hope the cold goes away very soon. xo
sending healing vibes your way, liz. this was the message i needed to read today, thank you :)
I love this post. We are enough and we need to remind ourselves of this daily when the chores and duties of the day start to creep up around us (in a hill fashion). :) We are battling the whole house being sick too. Hope relief reaches you soon my friend.
Amen sister! I really like what you had to say about this. "Enough" is actually my word for this year - I wanted a much more elegant-sounding word, but this is the word that chose me. I can fully relate and needed this reminder. Thanks for being you.:) Big hug across the miles.....<3
Thank you for your words in this post. That last post really spoke to me - It was absolutely what I needed to hear today. It is so wonderful that you write this blog and inspire others, I am so grateful :)
I recently had a couple of moms and their kids over to my place. During the visit I remember making sure they knew that my house was not neat and tidy the day before, and pointing out how, though quiet, my children are not angels. I needed them to know that I'm not supermom because, wow, we struggle with things at my house too.
i watched your video today and scrambled to find a pen to write down these words:
being enough does not mean doing everything.
i am going to write that on post it notes and put them all around the house.
i need that reminder.
xo
hi again liz, hope you are feeling better. thank you for the reminders. it's natural to compare ourselves w/others but at the end of the day, we need to be content w/who we are-- i think that's your message and it works for me! it's good being enough! xo alane
So true. I think sometimes it's difficult to remember that a blog post is nothing more than a small snapshot of what someone's life is like. I've often found myself poking around blogs of people who I think are doing admirable things with their life and think "Gosh! They've really got it all together!" when the reality is that everything is so much more complex. Just because someone's kitchen looks perfect in a picture doesn't necessarily mean that their living room isn't as messy as mine, etc. etc.
Hi Liz. I just found your blog after reading about you in one of my magazines. I wanted to tell you how much I liked this post. It really struck a chord with me. I'm looking forward to perusing your blog and reading more about your book. Have a great rest of your weekend. : )
~ Wendy
http://Crickleberrycottage.blogspot.com/