Are you always lacking time? Or possibly managing to squeeze some things in but other stuff gets pushed off the list and forgotten about, that stuff that means a lot to you but you push your needs down to the bottom as there just isn’t ever time to get to it. And you just get out of practice.
I experienced this with my music ie. practicing my flute. I stopped playing the flute for 20 years and then only recently in the last 3 years started playing it again, so I was out of practice at first, but decided to teach myself from books for a while to get up to scratch, where I left off at Grade 6 when I was at school, then had lessons too for a couple of years once my kids went to school, and I love it. I just can’t get enough of it. Since about 3 weeks ago, I started a new habit and told myself I would practice 10 minutes a day as I had gotten particularly slack at practicing over the past 6 months and really didn’t want to let it slide… I surprised myself and stuck to it – and it really does feel amazing being able to do what I love every day even if for a short time. What I have noticed is that some of the time I end up playing for longer than 10 minutes – it is quite addictive – which really has proved my passion for music, as well as my love for singing.
Music really has become a part of me, part of how I manage my everyday life, how I validate myself when no-one else is around to listen. I now use music as a tool to help me get through the day in the best way possible, even if it is to slow down and meditate sometimes too. There are some songs that are really heart warming to listen to, and also uplifting, depending on how I am feeling.
As I do spend a lot of time alone, I have to find ways of meeting my needs, and finding a way to express myself and be understood without needing to talk to anyone else about it is an important need of mine, we are human beings after all and need to find a healthy outlet to express ourselves.
As a mum, it’s really hard to keep trudging through life doing the same thing day in day out, the same routine, taking the kids to school, doing all the washing, cooking and cleaning. I have learnt that unless you stop doing these things for a certain period of time (even if for 10 minutes!), these chores just never seem to end, and can be very draining physically and mentally too.
Our minds need stimulation to give us energy and happiness, so it’s really important for each one of us to find that thing we love to do and do it every single day, stick it in your diary, make time for it, and then suddenly, you will find time. And maybe you will be inspired to pick another new habit you would like to practice in your life, and add that into your schedule. We all need structure in our lives and not to feel stuffy within all these seemingly closed walls around us. We must knock these walls down bit by bit, slowly one step at a time, one new habit at a time, to breathe in some fresh air, to see more clearly, to think more clearly about what it is you want to get out of life. We have been blessed with one life, so we should try to make the most of it whilst we can…