I've had several conversations this week with people around this topic. To be fair, I have had to process this myself this week. It's been a tough week, and no part of me felt like writing a blog post. However, I had committed to myself that I would write one blog post per week. So this brings me to a decision point. Do I push through and write a blog post, or do I honor the need for space and not write? Yesterday as my husband and I were walking, we talked about this question. He had made a commitment to himself to regularly attend his Taekwondo classes. Yesterday was a really rough day for him, however. He had to make a choice. Did he push through and honour his commitment, or did he take time to decompress at home in the evening? Neither choice was inherently good or bad. These are those moments where wisdom is required. Earlier this week I saw a visual post that talked about when to push our children and when to just be present and allow them to be. As parents we regularly face this struggle to know what is best. Sometimes our children need us to gently push them into something greater. At other times, our children need us to be present and hold space for them. Parental wisdom comes from figuring out which is required in each situation.
I wish I could find the graphic again! It had a picture of an open field and a child in the middle of the field. There was a large circle around the center of the field with an arrow and the words “It’s ok to push a little.” On another part of the graphic, near the edge, at the top of a cliff, there was another child standing, looking over the edge of the cliff. Next to it were the words, “DON’T PUSH.” While the visual makes it look really simple, it actually doesn't feel that simple when you're in the midst of it. Again, this is a moment where wisdom and discernment is required.
I think the same principle holds true for each of us. Whether I need to write my blog post or allow myself space to simply exist amidst the difficulties of the week, I need the wisdom that pays attention to where on my field of life I am right now. As you can see by now, my decision was that this was a time where I needed to give myself a gentle nudge. There are also times where I make choices to pull back - to say no to something good, to choose a quiet evening at home rather than time out with good friends, and to choose a simple meal rather than something that requires more effort. Part of learning how to nurture ourselves well so that we can live life well requires being mindful of where we are at in each moment and what we need. Wishing you a week filled with growing self-awareness and moments of intentional choice to nurture yourself well.
~ Haide
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