everything zen.

i meant to blog once a week, whatever was on my mind, but i was really upset over something last week, and it had me feeling impotent. i'm still thinking on it, so maybe that can be a post for another time. however, what i want to blab about today?

back in january, a couple of my friends seemed to all be aligned regarding where their minds were. instead of making these crazy town goals for the year, they made one single goal to apply across their whole life. mine sounded easy:

find balance.

because that's been something have always been notoriously bad about. i'm slammed at work but still signing up to volunteer. i'm drowning in projects, but still say, "sure, i'll pick another one up." i'm exhausted and feel myself in need of a simple date night in with the husband and still agree to go out instead. it's a hard thing, being good at multi-taslking and organization, because i sometimes allow it to become a hindrance for me. 

so, in 2014, my goal was to find balance. figure out how to calm this storm, keep everything at an even simmer, and learn to hold my peace when everything else is going at hyper-speed. 

i've made remarkable progress, i think.

work keeps my brain going all day, every day, and sometimes into the night, but only once in the last 8 months have i felt stressed at all. i've used my organization to increased efficiencies in my own life, including my responsibilities at work, and as a result, i'm actually using to-do lists as they are intended to be utilized: as a comprehensive way to view and prioritize, not as a way to put everything in one place and then ignore it because there is simply too much. 

we've changed the way that our daughter's schooling will happen; she'll be attending a charter school beginning this year, and not only are we thrilled with the curriculum, but it's minutes from the neighborhood we'd like to buy a house in. convenience makes life simpler and thus easier to keep things in line. 

we've got a plan in place to get out of debt entirely; this, in and of itself, does my heart good.

beyond that, my study of meditation has taken on something of a new design recently. i find myself taking three minutes here and there, as needed, just to breathe in and out and keep my wits and heart about me. this peace is something i can hold onto, and i find it adjusting my interactions with people as well; i'm calmer, less inclined to irritation. And to be honest: taking the few minutes i need is a way to allow self-respect that i never made time for previously. 

recently, i've been trying to get my diet and exercise in line with this simplicity, and so it's only fitting that i'll soon be embarking on a journey with the 21 day fix, which is a simple plan of portion control and exercise that i'm confident i'll have great results in. 

i'm feeling more confident in my abilities, but i've got more to do, and not much of it can be considered "busy work." all in all, i'm breathing easier, but i've got more responsibilities than i have had in previous years. 

all this tells me that i'm doing something right here, something it's my goal to continue. i smile more; i worry less. 

i hope you're doing the same. 

until next time, 

A