The Boy claims that I don’t know how to relax – I take on too many projects, can’t sit still and so on. I know he’s right.
It’s not like this is a new thing.
I’ve been thinking about this personal struggle quite a bit over the past few months. I’ve been feeling the edges of burnout. It arrives masked in exhaustion and lack of joy.
My friend C has spent most of this year writing about simplicity and minimalism. While I’m not quite ready to embrace a minimalistic life, C’s posts have given me pause.
- Is my life too busy?
- Am I incapable of relaxing?
- Do I find personal value in saying “yes”?
These are hard questions – truthfully, I’m not sure I know the answers just yet. I do know that it’s time to make adjustments. Some of these adjustments will be evident in my next 101 in 1001 List (the irony of making a list while in the midst of slowing my life down is not lost on me), some adjustments are more subtle.
For example, this weekend The Boy and I spent time resting together, enjoying simple meals, telling jokes, watching cooking shows and going for a joint run (only the third or fourth time that we’ve ever run together). We also talked about what our hopes and dreams – as well as our needs – are for the next three years.
It was intentional time and it was good.
I hope that three years from now I’ll find this post during a random blog scroll-through and realize that I exhibited some long-overdue wisdom. I also hope I’ll have some answers to those questions about rest and personal value.