Many of you have heard me speak before about the three kinds of currency that we have to manage within our personal lives: Money, Time and Energy. After all, if we need to sit down and look at our finances on a spread sheet, how much money is coming in and how much can go out before we go broke, why wouldn’t we apply the same to our time and energy currency? Time and energy are precious resources, too easily spent without consciousness around the output, and how and when we can refill our coffers. None of us know how much time we ultimately have in this life, and our energy waxes and wanes depending on so many factors. What time we do have is a treasure and I am sorry to say that there is no bargaining we can do to get back lost time. So, I have recently been examining how I am spending my time and energy, once again, very carefully.
I have been feeling lately like I am in a little boat with a slow leak, and until I can fix the leak, I must throw some non-essentials overboard. So much of what I am doing these days is exciting and satisfying, and much is not. When you start publishing, (I just released book #4 in July) there is so much marketing and promoting and new content creation, and much of that is draining my reserves. You may have noticed that I have taken some time off from writing my weekly blog. That was one of the things I just had to throw overboard, so my little boat wouldn’t sink. I am slowly patching the leak. I have been building a wonderful new team of helpers and am seriously allowing myself to trust and not do it all.
As a body-centered psychotherapist, I am well aware that the body doesn’t lie. My body has recently told me that I have lost my North Star, that which guides me on my journey and helps me live with clarity and intentionality. I have had gout since June 19th, almost four months. It is painful and exhausting and came as such a surprise. And the medicine for it trashes my gut completely. Each day, I ask my feet, what have you come to teach me as you struggle through the days? The answer has been, “The way you are walking your walk now is just not sustainable. You must prioritize! You must re-evaluate!” And my poor tummy tells me that it cannot hold any nourishment. “So, wake up, Ruthie!”
In response to my dear body, I have made a kind of spreadsheet of my time and energy. I decide what fills me and what depletes me. If some things I am doing deplete me, I must take a big breath and say kindly, “Thank you, and NO.” I have amped up my self-care, which I have been very committed to for a long time. Now I get a weekly Chinese massage and acupuncture. I take more naps. I bought myself a new bed that is dreamy. And I have slowed down on book 5. I realized I didn’t have writer’s block at all. The soil from which my creativity grows was overused and parched, and I will wait patiently for its rejuvenation.
Recently I realized that a big part of my mission statement is helping people become their own best friend. My best friend, Joy, died in December of 2019. I miss her every day. Another dear friend, Sam, reminded me that that loss has had a huge impact on me and must be affecting my energy and the pressure around the fragility of time. I do now literally have to take her voice and loving care into myself and become what she was to me, for myself, by myself. I can do that. I invite you to do that too. And making a time and energy budget is one of the ways you can deeply love yourself. Prioritize and re-evaluate- what fills your tank and what empties it?
Stay tuned. My fabulous new virtual assistant, Sonia, is refreshing my brand and there may be some cool surprises right here in my blog. Surprises to me, too, I might add. LOL.
Wishing you all a well-budgeted autumn, the time of letting go and moving inward into a more restful time.
And…
If you want to spend some time and energy well, I will be a featured group presenter in Oakbrook, Illinois on Sunday, October 24that an event hosted by Elevate, (check them out on Facebook) a women’s charitable organization. The name of the Event is Calm in the Chaos, and we will explore those two states of being in the context of our bodies and the Enneagram. And this blog was inspired by my own experience of being in chaos as well as the energy it takes to feel I need to be always calm…which I don’t! There will be other wonderful presenters as well. Here’s the link to register. $40 off if you use the code FF20. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/calm-in-the-chaos-chicago-tickets-156698323905. I will also be doing a book signing of my four books. I presented last week in Milwaukee for them and what a fabulous group of women empowering women.
