Me. For many years, everyone else came first. Family. Friends. Strangers. Church. Work. But not me. I must say I went to far. Okay, is there anyone else out there who has a passion for helping others get to their destination and you put yourself on a shelf much more often than the average person? Well…? Surely I am not alone in this. Surely I am not the only one who forgot to keep in mind this amazing word I am seeking daily.
Balance.
Yes, we are suppose to support and help others. NO we are not suppose to dump ourselves in the “sea of forgetfulness” to an extreme that we drown ourselves in exhaustion while forgetting an important personal resource. Yourself.
Well…after spending 98% of my life saying yes to the world, I am finally saying yes to ME. I AM my greatest earthly resource. Unfortunately, I have to push the “get up and go” button much harder because I put me off too long. It’s kind of like saving that last piece of pizza for yourself to eat AFTER you have given your time and energy to feeding everyone else. The day turns into weeks and the weeks months and the months…years and you still haven’t taken at least one bite of your one slice.
Today I seize the day…although tired, exhausted and drained from too many years of "them first" and I reach for the dried up pizza, drop it in the trash and step out to Pizza Hut and order a meat lovers LARGE, take it home and devour it. I save a slice or two for visitors to watch me eat it. (just kidding)
I give them a slice and save the last one for fuel to build a life of balance tomorrow. No one can start a productive life on empty. Yes, I will still give to others. It’s my nature. BUT I am definitely learning balance. We only have ONE life. Can’t start over and can’t regain time lost. The time to restart with balance is now.
Balance is a wonderful thought-processing tool. Think I’ll get me another slice of my pie. For me.