Sometimes needs can’t be ignored: a car that doesn’t start, a sick child, an argument, a leaking roof. This urgent straight forward “tending to” is a constant part of life.
This week I found myself in tune with a different layer of "tending to". My eyes landed on my silver teapot that hasn’t been polished in a year. I took an extra moment to look at myself in the mirror and plainly saw the need for a hair appointment. It was my daughter's birthday and I had a momentary desire to make a cake from scratch rather than out of a box. As I was standing in line at the dry cleaners I thought about the fact that my mother washed and ironed all of my father’s shirts.
There was a time when tending to life fit. When silver was polished, cakes were made from scratch and mothers mended. It’s the stuff that in our modern world can feel unimportant or easy to outsource; able to be put off, not mission critical.
Yet everywhere I looked, something was staring back saying, “deal with me”. This part of life can't truly be ignored. You still see it and feel it weighing you down. What keeps calling out to you?
There is a difference between, "dealing with" and "tending to". They have different energies. Can you feel it? To Tend is defined as: To pay attention.
What if you allowed yourself to pay attention to the people and parts in your life that are asking for care, love, time. What if you tended to them without guilt or stress . . . with full breaths that create a sense that it is time well spent?
I decided to let myself be free this week to do some of the little and big things that I dance around, avoiding, week after week. I worked with an amazing rockstar organizer and cleaned up my garage. I dusted the leaves of a plant. I polished some silver. I mended a sweater. I checked in on a neighbor.
The beautiful part of tending to life, is that life responds and smiles back at you. Your heart warms. You slow down, nurture, and are nurtured in return. You become more connected with all the parts of life that are there for you: your surroundings, your belongings, your loved ones, your own heart.
This week I found myself in tune with a different layer of "tending to". My eyes landed on my silver teapot that hasn’t been polished in a year. I took an extra moment to look at myself in the mirror and plainly saw the need for a hair appointment. It was my daughter's birthday and I had a momentary desire to make a cake from scratch rather than out of a box. As I was standing in line at the dry cleaners I thought about the fact that my mother washed and ironed all of my father’s shirts.
There was a time when tending to life fit. When silver was polished, cakes were made from scratch and mothers mended. It’s the stuff that in our modern world can feel unimportant or easy to outsource; able to be put off, not mission critical.
Yet everywhere I looked, something was staring back saying, “deal with me”. This part of life can't truly be ignored. You still see it and feel it weighing you down. What keeps calling out to you?
There is a difference between, "dealing with" and "tending to". They have different energies. Can you feel it? To Tend is defined as: To pay attention.
What if you allowed yourself to pay attention to the people and parts in your life that are asking for care, love, time. What if you tended to them without guilt or stress . . . with full breaths that create a sense that it is time well spent?
I decided to let myself be free this week to do some of the little and big things that I dance around, avoiding, week after week. I worked with an amazing rockstar organizer and cleaned up my garage. I dusted the leaves of a plant. I polished some silver. I mended a sweater. I checked in on a neighbor.
The beautiful part of tending to life, is that life responds and smiles back at you. Your heart warms. You slow down, nurture, and are nurtured in return. You become more connected with all the parts of life that are there for you: your surroundings, your belongings, your loved ones, your own heart.
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