The Second Step to Living A Balanced Life

I just poured myself a stiff drink. I finally just said to myself, instead of studying for the night I'm just going to have a drink and enjoy a little me time. And at first it took a little convincing as I was thinking, do I really deserve to have this drink/me time. But then I just said, you know what I should not have to justify this. And so here I am, with my drink in hand talking to y'all.

So as you guys can tell by the title, this is the second blog post I have done on balance, and what it looks like to me in my own life. I definitely encourage you guys to head back a bit in the blog to read the first 'Balanced Life' post which offers great, yet very practical tips that have worked for me! However since this topic is still so relevant in terms of the questions I often get asked; and just on social media or in society as a whole, I have decided to delve in to it again. This time taking a different approach, and really just driving home the idea that I don't think any of us truly have this idea of a balanced life figured out to perfection.

So as soon as I tell people about my life, currently, as Shezel Spencer I often get a shocked look and then the question of how I balance all that I have going on! And I honestly just laugh. Because how do we truly ever find a perfect balance with all that we have going on in our lives? We don't. We just learn how to prioritize, get thrown off of our track some times, and then get right back on and tell ourselves to just keep going. In a forward motion.That to me is balance. There is no secret recipe. Not one of us is perfect. Of course there are things that I try and do to organize all that I have going on, with the hope that I will be able to give equally in all aspects of my life as a wife, mother, daughter, friend and nursing student. But in reality, it is almost impossible to do that. Some times I will fall short, or even have to re-prioritize, and end up feeling bad for not being able to dedicate more time. But then I realize that the time and energy that I am putting in to feeling bad, and beating myself up over these things, I can channel toward a more positive task...so I do.

As far as studying goes, I get the most done during the night when Maya has gone down to sleep. I tend to stay up quite late and then wake up at about 5 in the morning to get ready for the new day. I like to be present in my home, with my family. I mean who doesn't. When I get home from school and then picking Maya up from daycare, if Ryeon hasn't already, I usually get started right away on dinner. We are big on eating together, because that is when we truly get to talk and share how our days went...Maya included! Then we play, or go for a walk and before we know it, it's time for the 3 B's (as I call it), bath, book and bed! Ryeon and I usually work on these things as a team, which I feel is so nice and important, because it prevents either one of us from getting burnt out and we get that quality, family time. But of course not every day is the same, and some times we do switch it up a bit, which is also really nice. Either way it works!

But yeah, honestly you guys I just try my best to be the best at all that I do. But with that being said there is room for improvement. And there always will be! My clinical teacher continuously says to us, as we talk about mental illness and how it has been on the rise here in Ontario, that it is almost like as technology and what ever else has advanced, we have grown in to this mind set of thinking that we have to be multi-taskers all the time... like hamsters on a wheel. We tend to put so much pressure on ourselves, in thinking that we must be able to do and handle it all. But in reality, it never use to be like that, things were so much more relaxed and more time was allotted to things like self care, connecting with each other, and with our community as a whole. Human connection is so important and necessary. For all of my parents on here, don't you guys notice how intrigued and happy your kids are when you are simply just talking, listening, playing and paying ATTENTION to them! It's the best thing, especially during the toddler stage, all they want is to share all that they have been learning and experiencing in their little, but very BIG world with you.

All I can really say is that you should definitely try your best to plan and write things down, but remember that you are a human being with needs too. You can not give in so many areas of your life, without taking the time every once in awhile to give back to yourself too. Once you have the drive, passion and determination to make some thing out of your life then you will just find a way to best make that happen. No matter what. Things come up in our lives that are beyond us, but that also happen for a reason. As long as we continue to affirm and love ourselves throughout the process, then I assure you that truly no weapon formed against you shall prosper. What is meant for you will always, most definitely, be for you. And that my folks, is real talk.

As always, I thank you for reading and I invite you to share your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below!

Now back to my stiff drink I go :)

S. S.