Having It All

I just read an article about "Having it All" in life, and I thought it was pretty well said. So I won't try to say it any better, just go check it out and let's reflect together!! Our grandmothers and great aunts back in the day had difficult, busy lives, too.

(That's my dad, sucking his thumb)

The only difference between then and now, is the type of things we are busy with. The author suggests that this need of "Having It All" and the lack of peace we may feel if we aren't "There" yet (I'm of course referring to the magical destination of "Have It All-Land") probably comes from popular culture and advertising. I have to agree, but I have a hard time really deciding where the root of this came from. Grandma (or Great Grandma for you), in a nutshell, were happier with less. Adjusted for inflation, families of decades prior earned less but saved more. Their houses were MUCH smaller. But the pace of modern life now seems so fast! The author of the "Have It All" article did, however, make an interesting point about how grown women of today grew up as the first generation that was told we could Be Anything We Wanted To Be. She thinks that somehow the message we received was We Must Be Everything!

Ever feel like that?

(yep, that's me)

Ever held back just feeling plain GOOD without even realizing you're doing it? Instead, you're just too concerned moment to moment with making sure you are accomplishing as MUCH as you can in as SHORT of time possible? lol

For me, this time of year always gives me an annual gut check. It's almost like our culture tells us we will be frazzled, and that we had better "Do" "Buy" "Go" or else... and it's always been in my nature since I was little to be a little rebellious and think outside the box. So when I feel the Holiday Pressure on the horizon each year, I get in touch with the part of me that stands up and says "No! I WILL decide, thank you very much, what I need or don't need to enjoy my life. And if you've reviewed the things you're thankful for, you probably also came to the same realization that you Have a LOT of things that were luxuries for millions of people that ever set foot on this Earth before us. Like Love. Like a safe neighborhood. Like a closet full of clothes. Like electricity (man do I LOVE electricity).

What If, I mean WHAT IF you were living in "Have-It-All-Land" all this time and just didn't realize it? What would that feel like to be there? And not just for a few minutes until the cares of the world sweep you back up, but really, truly, releasing from whatever negative ingrained beliefs you have about what you SHOULD be doing or SHOULD be feeling. Sometimes you've heard it so much you don't even recognize what it's doing to you. . .

The really AWESOME part about this, is that the moment you recognize and wrestle a bit with those Shoulds in your life that you kinda just let slip in there, you can let them go. That doesn't mean they won't try to squeak back in your life (especially when you are too busy to notice), but a little introspection at the holidays can lead to a season that you end up truly soaking up and enjoying more than ever before. . . .

I have several exciting posts to post, including a slideshow to a "holiday" portrait shoot that turned into a "surprise" marriage proposal right before my very camera!! Stay tuned because I'm going to be doing some massive blogging next week!! Weddings, seniors, babies, families, & one exquisite belly dancer!