Life is Full

You bump into a friend and they ask, in earnest, “So, how are you?” After a quick scan of your current status, you reply “I’m really overwhelmed! I’m working 70 hours a week, our daughter is just starting high school and her academic and social life are both complicated, my mother is not doing well and we’re trying to decide how best to support her. There’s just not enough time in the day!”

If even a quarter of the above fits your current life, you can relate to the distress that is part of a demanding life. The voice in your head is telling you “You can’t manage all this! It’s way too much! You are completely overwhelmed!”

Here’s a different perspective. You might reply to your friend, “Life is Full! My work is exciting but, at the moment, it’s taking more of my time than ever. We having to make some adjustments as a family while I get through these months. Our daughter is beginning an exhilarating chapter in her life, beginning high school and all that comes with that! We are especially paying extra attention to her needs as well. And then mom recently fell and my sister and I are working out a plan to keep her safe and happy at her home.” This time, the voice in your head is saying “I’m carrying a lot, but there is so much to be thankful for! Life is rich. Life is Full”

OK, this is a bit Pollyanna, I know. But you get the point. We can fly easier with a dusting of pollen on our wings or be loaded with pollen, barely able to fly, but lavish in the richness of plenty!

This shift in the story you are telling yourself may seem simplistic. In fact, it is. But it’s a powerful shift that reframes whether you carry life’s challenges as an insurmountable burden or as the path you have chosen. And if life is overly full, it’s your opportunity to edit and refine. To live with intention and in alignment with what you want.