The last couple years have been an adventure in my backyard.
Multiple trees have come down, some intentionally, others coming as a surprise to me (and my neighbors).
The last pile of branches and brush from the aftermath was a big one. Took me multiple days to burn it.
On one of those days, I happened to look down at my feet and saw that a branch had gotten tangled up in my shoelaces.
And not just a little tangled.
The loop of my laces was wrapped around that branch like it was holding on for dear life.
I shook my head as I untangled the branch and threw it on the fire.
Life can be like that branch. All tangled up and messy.
Work gets tangled with our personal life.
Our personal life gets tangled with our work.
We get tangled up in all of the stress and emotion and chaos.
And sometimes we don't even realize it. Until it's too late.
We're stressed and anxious and worried all the time, struggling to keep up, not even sure anymore which way is up or how to unravel it all.
Ironically, that's when it's most important to slow down. When it seems impossible to do so.
I say this a lot to my readers, my friends, my family. And to myself.
When life gets tangled, you need to pause and breathe.
Assess your situation, find the areas that are all tangled up.
And tackle them one at a time.
Personally, it helps me to write them down. Make a big long list of all of the sh*t rattling around in my brain.
Then I look at each thing, and decide which ones I actually have control over. And make a list of what I can do about them.
The things I can't control are a lot harder - I really struggle letting them go and just being okay with not being able to do a single thing to change them.
So I decide that there is one thing I can control - my perception of them. My outlook on how they impact my life.
This all sounds so simple, right? So easy. Just make a list and life will all of a sudden be fun and rosy again?
Not so much.
But pausing for a few minutes to try to bring objectivity in the midst of the chaos can help.
And who wants to live their life all tangled up in the muck of stress and frustration?
Not me.
I'd rather untangle that mess and throw it in the fire.
Watch it burn with the rest of the brush and debris.
And be able to walk freely again.
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And at our local Oconomowoc Bookstore - Books & Company
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