My mother was a stay at home mom. With 5 kids and a husband to take care of, it was a big job! I loved having her there when I came home from school.

These days, many women are working outside of the home and still trying to fulfill all the emotional and physical needs of their families. I wonder sometimes how long it will take before we realize how ridiculous this is. There are so many reasons why this is not working and will never work. We are women – not super-women. We don’t need to be super-women. We just need to be.

Recently I found myself thinking about my grandmother. The simplicity of her life seemed like a long lost paradise that we had banished ourselves from, without realizing it at the time.

I longed to spend an afternoon just chopping up vegetables for a home-made soup, like she did,  rather than running home from work and throwing something in the microwave or buying something on the way.

Why are we striving to accomplish so much every day that it leaves us feeling exhausted and eventually burnt out? What is driving this insane pace of life? I could go into lengthy explanations of what I see happening here but instead I’d like to offer you one piece of advice: Meditate.

I consider meditation to be the ultimate self-care. Not only does it require that we put everyone else’s needs and demands on hold for a few minutes a day, just to tune into ourselves, but it also connects us with that very place inside us that holds the answers to the above questions: Why am I doing all this? What am I running from? Who am I trying to impress? Compete with? Conform to? Please? What void am I trying to fill? What am I afraid I’ll feel if I slow down?

Insights and answers turn to wisdom and clarity over time, and we soon find ourselves living lives of balance and joy instead of deadlines and to-do lists. Meditation is a great way to start making time for yourself a priority, which will help you to very naturally slow things down to a pace that is healthy for you. And if you do it, everyone will benefit because you’ll be happier and calmer.

Remember, you only need a few minutes a day to start feeling the changes in your life. How about 8 conscious breaths before getting out of bed in the morning? That would be a great start. Try it tomorrow and see how your day goes. Spending those first few moments of your day in peace and quiet will make a huge difference over time.  YOU ARE WORTH IT!!

I think finding balance is a gradual and ongoing process. One thing I’ve learned along the way is that I will never feel balanced (=happy) if I don’t find some time for me on a regular basis.

Over the years I have often said that I find meditation to be the ultimate in self-care. In order to do it you have to put everything and everyone else on hold…. to do what?

Just sit there.

Hmmmmmm. How do you explain that one to your hubby, kids, boss, friends, parents and all those whose never-ending needs are clawing at the door as you breathe?

It’s easy to feel that our hectic schedules simply don’t allow time for this “luxury.”

EGO ALERT!!

Your ego is telling you that because it is not interested in your happiness.

So it’s up to you to move beyond that. You have to decide whether you are worth it or not.

How do you do that? By telling yourself the following:

“Everything I need to get done today will be done with less effort, more efficiency and greater ease if I take a few minutes to meditate first.”

It’s true. You’ll see.

I can’t begin to describe how much easier life is since I’ve learned how to push ego out of the driver’s seat and hand over the reins to my highest self.

I know this seems scary to a lot of people. But this apparent ‘loss of control’ is only scary to ego. Ego wants control. Soul is so happy to just go with the flow.

Meditation has helped me find and connect regularly with a part of myself that is much better at running my life than I am. And it’s more fun too! (soul is much more adventurous!)

I will be offering an art/meditation workshop on August 20th called “Following Spirit to a Place of Balance”. No artistic talent or meditation experience is required.

Just an open mind and the desire to be happy.