I just came back home from a friend's place who I had coffee with. While we were chatting and catching up on what had been going on in our lives she got a phone call. She found out her cousin had just hung himself.
It got me thinking when I got home. She mentioned she had been thinking of calling him but didn't get around to it. As a sales rep she had been flat out trying to make ends meet and provide for her family.
I think most of all get caught up in this trap. Our lives get so busy. Our to do lists are never ending. There is always another goal or target to achieve. I know I fall into this category.
Lately I have watched a few documentaries on community living on how people help each other to create a better life. Where people only take what they really need and share the remainder. Even about the woman in Germany that lives without money. What is really important in your life? How do you want to live your life?
Maybe perhaps this concept of community living is a way forward where we can all work together to create better lives and lift each other up. I read this beautiful share on Facebook the other day. If we had to grow all our own food we wouldn't waste it. If we had to make our own furniture we wouldn't just exchange it because our colour scheme had changed. We live in a world of abundance yet we act as if we lived in a world of lack.
Today I wanted to share something with you about finding balance in our daily lives. I was lucky enough to find an IPhone app from Beyond Success for free which gives you access to many videos on personal development and reaching your goals in life or in other words on making your dreams come true. I personally attended quite a few of their events and every single time the information was worth way more than the investment of any time or many spent to go to the events.
I used the app a bit last weekend and watched one of the first videos by Paul Blackburn on balance. I think it is becoming harder and harder to find balance in our lives nowadays because there is just so much to do or expected of us. Whether you are a mum juggling the household with looking after the kids and struggle to find time for yourself. Whether you might be like me where I am juggling work with study plus my fundraising for the Heart Foundation and the marathon training for the New York Marathon this year. There is lots of different scenarios and I think all of us lead a busy live where we need to juggle multiple things at the same time and often balance gets overlooked.
However Paul's video looks at it from a different perspective where he outlines the importance of paying attention to the little things such as nutrition, exercise or even sleep to ensure your body is in a great condition to take on all of the multiple items you might have in your daily life.
The key message is that we need to put ourselves first so that we will be at our best!
As an example at the moment as you might be aware I am completing a two week detox program which includes lots of juices and smoothies but also some soups as well as salads in the second week. This ensures that my body gets all the best nutrients in order to heal itself and that I will be at my best condition once I get to my exam next week.
Even though I am currently studying for most of the day I made sure this morning that I took the time to put in a 20 minute walk to get some sunshine and give my body a little movement and of course my brain a break from all the hard work it has been doing.
I also make sure to get enough sleep, which means in between 8-9 hours, every night. These are the ways I am putting myself first.
Balance is also not about being perfect, if you ask me. It is more about doing the best you can at any given time because really no one of us is perfect.
This can be quite different for everyone and it depends on where you are in life. You might not be able to do a detox but you can make the healthiest possible choices when it comes to the food that you nourish your body with. For example it is quite easy to start the day with a hot lemon tea where you freshly squeeze a lemon and pour over some warm water. This is an easy way to aid the cleansing of your body and it boost your immunity. Lemons are very alkaline and therefore great for the body.
However you might find it easier to make sure to include some healthy snacks such as nuts or fruit in between meals or you can make sure to have a salad or a soup once a day. Whatever it might be for you. The only person that will know what is right for you is? well you might have guessed it only you will know what is right for you and what you can do to ensure you put yourself first!
