A number of people on LJN have undergone a hard and stressful year (me included) outside of their normal working life. A few have exchanged messages of support that I know have been well recieved, but I wanted to post this extract from Andy @ Enborne Gardening (I hope he won't mind :-) from a post last year.
I read it again today and it still made sense. It's not often I'm driven to do something like this, but it is thought provoking.....
Thanks Andy.
" If you spend too long looking forward or back, you miss the now, and the key to life for me is to get the most from every second I am here.
I don't worry about a work/life balance, I don't worry about retirement, in fact I rarely worry at all. Worry simply gets in the way of squeezing the last drop out of our short time here. In just under 2 months time, I'll be 50, and it is a miracle I have got this far.
I've had people try to kill me, and have nearly killed myself, on three continents. I've seen things that no-one should have to see, and seen things that I wish everyone could see. And the one thing I have learnt from all of that - apart from when to duck - is that everything you are, and everything you have, can be gone in an instant.
So make the most of it while you have it. For me, this life has been one hell of a ride so far, and it's by no means over yet. Every day I see things to marvel in, from spider webs sparkling in early morning sun, to the 30 or so vintage tractors that drove past my house yesterday.
Each is a new, diverse, wonderful experience, some big, some small, and I love them all. Every sight, every sound, every smell, every touch, every taste tell me that I am still here, and that there is more to come. The many people I've met along the way are part of that too, from those I have known for years, to my new friends here at LJN.
I learn from you all, and I hope to be able pass on some of my knowledge and experience too. And each new thing I learn and experience, and each new friend I make, adds to the fun and excitement that is, for me, this life.
I never want balance in my life - for me, with balance comes a single, monotonous tone. I perfer the mess of quiet and loud, of light and dark, that make you really feel alive. Look for the joy in the small things, as well as the big - it is always there and can always be found. But it is not enough to just look - you have to actually see what you are looking at. And, I guess, the most important think is to know yourself and be at peace with yourself.
It's often the most difficult thing to do, to accept yourself for who you are, and not someone you think you ought to be. I'm not talking about external things like wanting a better job here - I'm talking about the real, inner you, the one only you know.
Once you accept who that person is, and make peace with them, you'll find that you have a lot more time to get on with living your life. That, after all, is what it is for.
So when you've read this, look around you - really look - and I think you'll find that there is a lot out there that you have been looking at every day, but perhaps you've never seen. I tell you, life is good.
And don't forget to laugh."
How true....
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Replies
yes - forget your fancy cars and bikes , big houses, alcohol every night and take aways / 3 holidays abroad etc = stress lol.
im happy and have peace , i know who i am and what i am capable of . i have no-one to impress except me.
its the small things that matter .
fruits of the spirit : love, joy, peace, long-suffering, understanding and patience :)
There are actually 9 Fruits of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, Kindness, Faith, Goodness, Mildness and Self-control. All are well worth considering and cultivating in life to the benefit of self others.
Gardens4u.co.uk said:
I have just printed the original and nine fruits of the spirit posts off and pinned them to the cork board in a prominent place in my office, for the WHY am I doing this days (I am sure we all have them!)
I have worked in many different situations previously, from being a mechanic in a marque specialist garage, where contact with the public seemed to be discouraged - to delivering and assembling educational and office furniture for a multi million pound company.
I have enjoyed them all in different ways, however all my hard work on a garden clearance/tidy up job the other day was rewarded instantly when the slightly emotional elderly client came to the door and said 'thank you so much I have got my garden back now' - just made all the hard slog through the freezing depths of winter seem worthwhile somehow.
The posts above just sum it all up - there's no point doing anything if you are not enjoying it! THANKS!
PS: the removal of a twenty five foot high by 15 foot wide buddleia from the above clients small town garden probably helped - she couldn't even get out of her conservatory door!
If you need a bit of inspiration, need to sort priorities out, or just wonder if you are doing the work/life balance bit right - read the comments from Andy in the Opening Post.......
:)
Neil Petrie BSc Landscape Mgt said:
The sun is shining this morning, there we go, a positive already!
Inspirational OP, that strikes a chord.
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