When I speak to my nieces and nephew at the end of every week, I always ask them - "So what have you been up to this week?"
"Nothing".
"What new stuff have you learned this week?"
"Nothing".
"What did you do today?
"Nothing".
Further questioning reveals plenty of activity. But yesterday it got me thinking: a lot of people (me included) do the same. When asked: "What's going on?" We invariably respond: "Nothing much". And our experiences are lost. To others - but, most importantly to ourselves.
The last five months seem to have been a blur of nothing much. So I decided to take a 5 month inventory: looking through my day planner, kindle, photos and notes for clues. I was surprised to find that my apparently slow-moving life was packed with activities, experiences and learnings. A balanced life is said to encompass 10 major areas here's how mine broke down:
Work - the cookbook and it's marketing, the Positive Heroes Fashion show/outreach visits to clinics and schools with the UltraMarathon Team, developing new plans
Home - lots of cooking, a redo of the garden, flirting with the idea of putting in a pool or moving
Family - always in contact, visits at Christmas and weekends together. And of course, the addition of the much beloved Jack (best new thing I did last year)
Friends - visits, getting back in touch, some new friends, drifting apart of some old ones and some losses.
Fitness and Health - yoga, the addition of pilates and (thanks to Jack) walks on the beach.
Creative - germinating book ideas ... some decent photos
Money - enough to get by plus some unexpected Royalties from the book
Spirituality - for me this means anything I learn that impacts my values, beliefs and way of looking at the world - and there has been plenty of learning here. Especially regarding friendship.
Travel - here and there around Cape Town.
The only area truly wanting was Romance. But right now, I am ok with that.
Yesterday I had lunch with some friends I hadn't seen for years. Both of them had changed their lives profoundly in very different ways. One had moved country, learned a new language and had a baby - the other had confronted an issue that had bothered her for many years and taken bold and brave steps to change it. With incredible results. I was knocked out by them both.
They wanted to know why I didn't blog anymore and I had no convincing answer. So, I've decided to get off my ass and get typing. It will be a good way of reminding myself that there is plenty going on in my life. And, if I am every going to get those books written; I need the practice
