Work In Colour - Work. Think. Live. In Colour
Wednesday 12th May 2010 | 6 comments
I went on a retreat a few weeks ago, and it was just the thing for recalibrating my energy, focus and enthusiasm. What is was not about was work-life balance, because I don't think that's the right paradigm for my life, and maybe not for yours, either.
For me, it's about choosing in a more flexible way, day to day, how to allocate time between the different parts of my life - client work, writing my book, working on my business, family, friends, downtime (and currently of course, Masterchef!). I used to think of it as making work-life choices, but now I've taken it a step further.
While I was on retreat, I had a chat to Venerable You, a Buddhist nun I met last year when I presented a couple of workshops at the Australian Youth Buddhist Conference at Portsea. Venerable You is a most practical and also inspired teacher, a combo that appeals greatly to me. (She is also very amusing...)
We were talking about fitting meditation and reflection into a busy life, and she mentioned that she saw it all as 'just one pond'. A lightbulb moment. Just one pond. Not divvying up time between this compartment or that, finishing 'work' so you can move onto 'life'. Just one pond. For me, a window opened somewhere, bringing a sense of flexibility I hadn't had for a while.
In any moment, on any day, you can move fluidly from one area into another, and back again. You can respond as needed in any part of life. You can follow your sense of what needs to happen next, or what suits your frame of mind. So some days it's all about my book, and on others the focus is on client needs, or cooking a new risotto, or preparing for a creative thinking workshop, or going to a movie with my son or a friend. But there's no weighing it all up to find that perfect (mythical?) balance; whatever needs to happen on a given day, happens.
And if you are cultivating mindfulness, say, or patience, then you cultivate it in every part of your 'work' and your 'life', not just carve out 20 minutes for it each morning.
Just one pond. Utopian maybe, but so far, it works for me.
This is a ripper, Joanna. I like it very much. What a great approach!
Just yesterday I rode my new bike to the pool. Powering up and down Lane 1, I noticed a seagull on the edge - drinking, resting.
I slowed down. Then it fetched a bone and started working on it, taking breaks every now and then to rest and drink.
That bird was there the whole time I swam my 1.6 km (quite a while). Each time I passed, I got very close. It didn't seem to mind at all. So I slowed down even more to appreciate an unprecedented 'fish-eye' view of this elegant creature.
It was great fun. My timings went out the window and I got home late. But what the hell? I'd enjoyed a brand new experience and I'm writing about it here.
Perhaps that pool was my portal to the pond. I hope so! Thanks, as usual, for the insights. Best regards, P. :)
Not for the first time, Paul, you have taken a mundane post and elevated it with poetry - thanks. (Pool as portal, good stuff...)
pppppp yay! :)
Wonderful post Joanna...and wonderful story Paul to demonstrate just how easy it is to be present to an everyday experience.
Although I teach meditation and practice it daily I can still forget to weave it into every moment of my day. This is just the reminder I needed.
Thank you.
I like this thought... the moment I read it I am sure I felt 'guilt' lifting off my shoulders...
there is a lot of pressure involved when trying to achieve the right balance... mythical indeed!
Thank you Kate! And Tina, that's exactly how I felt when I heard Venerable You say those words to me - so much more is possible in one pond, at least where my life is right now!