A series of countryside visits this month have renewed my faith in humanity and in life. There are so many opportunities out there for us to grab if we just open our eyes and minds enough to see them. I am learning day by day to let my mind wander and dream, not punishing myself to adhere to certain rules family or society have placed on me. My meditation today guided me to see everything as hope. Especially to see uncertainty as hope. Because uncertainty means there are boundless opportunities, which is the ultimate definition of hope.
Instead of thinking you are nervous, or anxious, can you replace that with excited? Can you be excited by the possibilities ahead that you either can see or don’t yet know exist?
If there’s one thing I have learned recently, it is that I am the master of my time. The past year I have been working with a much more flexible time schedule than I have been able to have in the past, and yet I still find myself beating myself up for not working long enough hours, for not putting enough in. For trying to work my schedule so that I have time to do things and attend gatherings I enjoy.
I am realizing that there is completely, one hundred percent, nothing wrong with that! We each have one life to live, and we should spend it doing whatever we wish, as long as it doesn’t hurt others and as long as we are still able to provide for ourselves. I am working to extinguish this guilt of not conforming enough to society’s standards.
How can you create space in your life for what you love? For what brings light into your heart? There are studies that actually show that working four days a week with deep concentration is much more effective than working five days a week AND checking e-mail over the weekend. There is nothing wrong with separating work and play with clear boundaries. There is also nothing wrong with mixing work with play – for the luckiest of us work feels like play.
Anyway, just wanted to share that little tidbit today. Do not feel guilty for making time to do things you love. You cannot work, or serve others, at your highest level without first nourishing and taking care of yourself.
xo
J
P.S. I’m starting #100DaysofGratitude on my Instagram. Feel free to follow me there!
Becoming Joanne 
I have been reading your posts and really enjoy them…I’ve been meaning to comment for a while, and each time, a busy schedule catches up and I forget to do so…They have all struck a chord in me, and particularly this latest one…I really liked how you spoke of seeing nervousness and anxiety as opportunities instead. At the moment, I’m feeling quite a bit of that, and have been telling myself that; however, reading your words and reflections brought it to another light for me…And I’m going to keep those thoughts close to my heart and meditate on them as well…What’s the worst that can happen right? If we see them in this light? Certainly nothing worse I imagine, and quite to the contrary, I imagine seeing things that scare us in this light can only make them more manageable and actually allow us to experience them in a more positive light.I also really appreciated what you wrote about letting go of guilt for thinking you’re not doing "enough" when you are…and making time and space to create the life you love. Our parents may not have lived this kind of life, and we’ve been influenced by it…However, like you say, we each have one life to live, and seeking to live it in a meaningful and better way for ourselves is not selfish- Thank you Joey for your insights:)
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