Simplicity = Balance

My good friend, Elise McVeigh, send me a great e-mail that can also be found on her blog:
http://elisemcveigh.com/Blog.aspx
Elise wisely points to the importance of achieving BALANCE. I suspect balance is one of the key components to what my simplified life would look like. I hadn't considered her perspective before ... it is not just about the balance, it is about performing at your peak in each area of your life. 'Living Your Best Life' as Oprah would say. I'm not sure I can get there this year, but it is a good perspective to consider.
While part of my 2010 goals include exercise and healthier eating, I am just now realizing that part of simplifying is going to be committing to healthy living as a priority. Not only will it simplify my future health issues (I hope!) but it will reduce stress and increase my happiness and contentment. I know it is going to be hard to continue to exercise 5 times a week (but easier than it would have been ... thank you Mr. Simplify for the best Christmas present EVER, an elliptical machine). It is definitely going to be challenging for me to reduce the amount of sugar and carbs that I consume. I always joke that my favorite diet is the FATkins Diet, because I LOVE sugar and carbs. LOVE them! I also love to cook and I want to savor food and the experiences of our lives that occur around food -- family dinners, holiday get-togethers, date nights, cocktails and nibbles with dear friends, etc. I believe in the power of joyfully preparing food for others to nurture and bless them. I love they way food tastes and believe the breaking of bread is an important part of having balance, peace, and fulfilment. So my challenge here is to commit to HEALTH as one of my components of simplification, which will include healthier eating and exercise, as well as going to the doctor, dentist, etc. proactively instead of reactively. However, I want to ensure I keep balance and perspective within this component. I want to continue to bless my family with healthy dinners and homemade treats, and to continue to enjoy the social interactions that occur over food without feeling guilty or stressed. But I will have to consistently and intentionally make healthy choices ... especially when I am eating away from home.
Also from Elise McVeigh's blog: ORGANIZATION. Her emphasis on organization is one I share. From the outside looking in, I know many people would say that I am an organized person. In some ways they are quite right. But I am sure Mr. Simplify could enlighten them to the full dynamic of the situation. I am forgetful. I MUST write any and all commitments in my calendar, with an alarm reminder, or I would almost certainly fail to follow through. I have great intentions and MANY commitments, but part of simplifying in 2010 has to be easing the stress of trying to do everything and be everything to everyone. The even more intense stress of not being able to meet everyone's expectations, especially Mr. Simplify's, is something I want to seriously reduce in 2010. Why is it that when I get over committed or over stressed, the things I let slide are those that impact my family and myself?? .... I have so much to do today that I am going to skip my morning exercise and breakfast; I don't have time to make a healthy and delicious meal for my family for dinner or to go to the grocery store to ensure we have lunch meat and bread for lunch sandwiches this weekend; the laundry or dishes are piling up instead of clean, put away, and ready; my family is having to rush because I didn't....get up in time, pack our gear the night before, remember something, insert 'whoops!' of your choice here. Partly this is organization, but it is also PRIORITIZING. What really deserves my time and energy?
So as I focus in on what simplifying is going to mean for me in 2010, my emphasis will be:
BALANCE
HEALTH
ORGANIZATION
PRIORITIZING
and, the most important component,
RELATIONSHIPS (God, Family, Friends, Community and the relationship I have with Myself)
Prioritizing my relationships and the amount of time I spend on each is going to be crucial to simplifying.
Finally, as I write this, I think the end game I am looking for is PEACE ... a reduction of stress; a strengthening of the most vital relationships in my life; a contentment that I am using my time wisely; a savoring of the rewards that come from doing things that matter, even if it is just blessing my family by making sure there is toilet paper; and a feeling of gratitude for what I am able to accomplish because I am focused on the things that are important to me.