A mindful masterpiece

 I may not be the queen of multi-tasking, but I sure am close to being one of the princesses of it.
Like many of you, my mind feeds off of stimulation, new ideas, and challenges. I’m not sure if I was born this way, if it was acquired through my upbringing, or maybe it’s a combination of the two. But however it shakes out, anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that my hands are always in about 52 different things. I see life as a blank canvas, one where any colors and ideas can be used. It’s how I’m wired; learn, try, GO...try some more. This mentality fit my life until I had my twins. While on 18 months of maternity leave from teaching, I had much more “quiet mind time” (yes, even with twins!) than ever before. You would think that this would be an incredible time of peace, but this was actually when my mind became my worst nightmare. It drove me CRAZY. Working three businesses from home, while taking care of my young family, apparently wasn’t enough to keep my mind satisfied. I felt like I was always just searching (in my head and online) for that perfect fit. And while all of this searching was going on, I would miss out on what was right in front of me. I was biting off more than I could chew to “work from home” and despite being physically present, emotionally I missed out on many special moments. Sad, but true.


I would have conversations with myself to try and just let things be. I acknowledged the problem but couldn’t fix it. Despite the attempts, somehow I’d literally end up thinking about new ideas to explore. It became a vicious cycle-one of which almost had me to turn to medication.


It wasn’t until I forced myself to slow this hot mess down that I discovered the power of simplicity that can be found within yourself. This was the missing piece. I had lost my grounding after having the minis. As busy as life had become with work and tots on the move, I finally learned the importance of taking care of my own well being first-before anyone else. It seemed selfish to me. But I sucked it up and started with five minute meditations and have grown from there. I saw the powerful difference it made in resurfacing my ability to be physically and emotionally present, both at home and in the classroom. Time for me is now a non-negotiable because it has the power to transform one’s life journey, which impacts the journey of others.
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The quest for a mindful future for our children starts with us. With that in mind, I challenge you to treat yourself to five minutes today, tomorrow and the next day to engage in whatever makes YOU happy. Just five minutes. Your life is your masterpiece. It can be anything that you want it to be, as long as you make time for yourself first. Everything else will then fall into it’s beautiful place...even as a princess multi-tasker. #5minFridayChallenge

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For your listening pleasure and inspiration, Masterpiece by Andy Grammer: