Like most people, we often feel like we are  juggling way too many things in our life. Although we try to simplify, make choices, edit out the unnecessary, we have not yet mastered the equilibrium of just enough.

How startling then to find Rose Cook’s A Poem for Someone Who is Juggling Her Life in the illuminating Lifesaving Poems, and its affirmation of a very counter-intuitive option…

A Poem for Someone Who is Juggling Her Life

This is a poem for someone
who is juggling her life.
Be still sometimes.
Be still sometimes.

It needs repeating
over and over
to catch her attention
over and over,
as someone who is juggling her life
finds it difficult to hear.

Be still sometimes.
Be still sometimes.
Let it all fall sometimes.

Improvised Life

 

Letting it all fall can be as big a leap as any of the creative leaps we’ve written so often about, into new projects, relationships, challenges. It can be a mighty daring leap to just stop…

…be still…

…do nothing…

…and let things fall OUT of our control…

 

Invariably, they right themselves, or a new path opens up or just being still brings a new perspective.

 

 

 

Images from Research in Juggling History. Top: Egyptian, from the 15th Beni Hassan tomb of an unknown prince, dating from the middle kingdom period of about 1994-1781 B.C.     Middle: Terra Cotta Statue from the time of Ptolomaer of ancient Thebes, about 200 B.C      Bottom: Medieval illuminated manuscript

With thanks to M.E. for the wonderful Lifesaving Poems.

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5 replies on “Advice for Someone Who is Juggling Her Life

  1. Wow!
    ‘It needs repeating
    Over and over
    To catch her attention
    Over and over,
    As someone who is juggling
    Her life
    Finds it difficult
    To hear’ made me laugh out loud In self-recognition. Thank you!

  2. Hi Sally: As so many of your posts do, this came to me at the perfect moment when I was overwhelmed with life.

    Thank you so much for reminding me again, perfectionism is ego and letting something fall will not make the earth stop spinning.

    I have one nuts and bolts question to ask as I am setting up a home office for my fledgling graphic design business as an encore career evolving from many years in the newspaper world, and the photo of yours, in your laboratory, has always stuck with and inspired me. Are the hollow core doors you used as a desktop surface holding up under the weight of your computer?

    If you have the time to shoot me a quick answer, I surely thank you in advance for it.

    Best regards,
    Diane

  3. Hi Diane, The hollow core doors are holding up just fine, even with the recent addition of a 35-pound standing/sitting desk mechanism that holds my monitor. The only thing I would have done differently is to paint them a solid color or white in lacquer. The wood veneer shows worn spots. So I may do that soon and keep them going.

    The biggest recommendation I would make if you are shifting to working at home is to have a way to disappear the work area from sight. You can do that with a curtain, or as I did for years, with screens. My favorites, which I still use for other things. You can see them here.

    Best of luck with reinvention.

  4. Sally good to hear and thank you so much for your reply and good wishes! I am finding new energy as my plan unfolds and am lucky to have had mentoring influences, of which you are a major one, who give me the nerve to step out in my own choices even though I am a bit scared.

    I live in a house with a second floor loft so with my office tucked away there I can walk downstairs and not see my work space but so true, there has to be a separation, physical and time wise, between work and private life.

    I will continue to MOVE SHIT FORWARD! 🙂

  5. Sounds like you have things figured out well. I’m so glad Improvised Life has been a “mentoring influence”. (:

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