Get in balance with some fun in you life.
I have been posting about things that I love. I love music. I love books. I love pottery. I love beauty. I love candles. When I make time for these things and when I focus on them; I give a gift of love to myself. I am becoming a good friend to myself. I am my own Valentine!
Some of the best advice I can give you is that you seek balance in your life. We all have responsibilities, many of us have jobs. We have to do so many things that we cannot leave undone. Even young children have to sit and eat. They have to come and get a bath. They have to go to bed. They have to get in the car and go where we decide to take them. They cannot just play without stopping. Unlike us, however, most children play every minute they are not being coerced into doing the things I mentioned before. In the life of most preschool American children they have a hefty portion of their day to spend playing and exploring. Adults, on the other hand, may not even have play or recreation in their lives. That is a life out of balance. That can be a big problem on a potter’s wheel and it can be a big problem in life. Look how happy I am doing one of my favorite things. I am so happy because this little pot is in balance. Quite an achievement for a beginner!
Having balanced lives involves many pursuits such as nourishing ourselves, getting medical care, exercising, careers, education and relationships, not to mention the highest goal and passion of my life: seeking to know and be closer to God through His Son, Jesus Christ. All these wonderful pursuits have great value and to tell the truth they are more important than having fun. I am certainly not encouraging you to be self centered and irresponsible. What I am encouraging you to do is to remember to have fun. You will find that it really helps you keep emotional balance and rejuvenate so you do have the resources to carry on with your myriad responsibilities.
I am giving you permission to have fun. It is not a waste of time. It is healthy. If your life and the ways you spend your time were a pie, fun would probably need to be only a small slice. It would be one of the most delicious, though, and worth every bite.
I want to ask you; what make your eyes sparkle? What activities cause you to grin ear to ear? What do you find refreshing?
This article would not be complete without offering a little caution about recreation that may not truly be good for you in the end. Some find that playing competitive games is actually stressful. The same is true with many of the books we read and media we watch. You may be drawn to horror films, but how do you feel after you watch them? Do you feel fatigued and stressed? Do you have trouble settling down to sleep? They may not be worth the temporary adrenalin rush. Additionally, some fun activities require so much preparation or travel time or clean up that in the end they are not really refreshing. Count the cost not just in money, but in energy expended and associated stress.
I recommend thinking small, not big! Look for things that bring a brief positive reaction. Look for affordable joy makers. For me, one pink rose in a bud vase will give me many positive emotions every time I look at it until it fades. Even then I can hang it upside down and dry it. I can later scatter the petals around a centerpiece or display them in a glass dish.
