I listened to The Lazy Genius podcast as I headed back to work after an extended holiday break. I was thinking about all of the things I wanted to accomplish–stay ahead of emails, get in my steps for the day, cook the healthy meal I had planned. As I was mentally staying on top of my fresh resolutions, the host, Kendra, was talking about seasons. And something she said really struck me: Everything is a season. Be where you are and learn what it has to teach you.
I think the beginning of a new year–and a new decade–can feel like a beautiful fresh start. But it can also bombard us with images and sentiments about a new body, a new outlook, a new approach. What if it’s all…not entirely necessary?
I can admit that I have been guilty of struggling to just be content. When I was a young, single person, I desperately pined for the days when I would have a family. When my children were born, despite wholly knowing how quickly time flies, I would still wish for them to reach milestones, to sleep through the night, to be done with bottles. The area where this hurried approach shines brightest? My treatment of myself. I couldn’t wait to grow up, couldn’t wait to have that big baby bump, to lose the baby weight, to have time for the facial, to just become the next thing.
And…spoiler alert: when you’re constantly trying to become a new person, you never get to enjoy the person you are and the people you have right now. It. Is. Exhausting. It’s well intentioned, sure. The pursuit of a better self is certainly an age old noble one. But, our culture has somehow over glorified the transformation.
Which brings me back to Kendra’s reminder. I am not a person whose livelihood rests on my glowing skin and rock hard abs (LOL, am I right?). I am a person in a season of being a working mother to two small children, shuffling piles of laundry and crockpot meals.I am in a season of trying to date my husband, getting the doc to the vet and registering for soccer. I have arrived at a place of having what I have always wanted–so why not slow down and enjoy? Learn what it has to teach me. The temptation is to transform but what is wrong with right here?
Don’t get me wrong, I still plan to work out. It does wonders for my health. I plan to cook healthy meals when I can because it’s good for all of us. But I don’t think it serves me to make some stringent resolution about losing 30 pounds. Instead I am simply resolving to live in the season, learn what it has to teach me, and give myself some grace.
Here’s to a new year, a new decade, a new perspective–and good ol’ me.