I (being W) had the privilege of attending a fantastic women's event at my church on Saturday. Shauna Niequist spoke, and read a few selections from her most recent book, Bittersweet. It was a great event, and I learned a lot about change and how to accept the sort of change that is inevitable in our lives.
My favorite part of the session was when we were discussing one of her essays entitled, "Things I don't do." As a women, she has struggled along with the rest of us in trying to do everything all the time and be excellent while we do it. She reached a breaking point one day when she realized, to her horror, that she had actually written,"Do everything better," on her to-do list. Haven't we all felt like that? Like we are not doing enough, and that what we're doing is not as good as it should be?
At this point, Shauna decided enough was enough. If she was going to be a woman of God, if she was going to do the things that she wanted to do, the things that God called her to do, than she needed to decide on those things that she was NOT going to do. Things that she was not going to waste her precious time on, and things that she was not going to continue wasting energy feeling guilty about.
She encouraged the rest of us to make our lists. To think about the things in our lives that are not necessarily bad, but that we've come to believe are good and that for us to be good, we must do them. Here is my list:
Things I Don't Do:
-Run
-Straighten my hair
-Ride public transportation
-Buy organic
-Bathe every day
-Math without a calculator
-Wear heels
My list could go on and on. The purpose is not to list our faults, but to realize that these things are not faults at all. That it is within our right to wear what we want, to eat what we want, to exercise (or not) how we want without feeling guilt or pressure or less of women because of it.
To realize that we can't do it all, and that to try to do it all (when "all" means doing things that are unimportant to us anyway) puts us at risk of not having enough time, mental space, or energy to do what we want to do or feel called to do.
What's on your list? What do you not do?
I am in ! This is a fun game. Here is what yo momma does not do:
ReplyDeleteI do not have enough clothes to switch out closets every season
I do not have lots of shoes or purses
I do not want.....to envy people with good hair
I do not eat beets or brussel sprouts
I do not shave my legs often enough
I do not clip coupons
I do not iron
I do not paint my nails or toe nails
I do not care what people think of me
I do not take good health for granted
I do not like belonging to women's clubs
I do not like people who show little compassion for those in need.
I do not like to think of a world without my parents
Fun! Here is my list... although I must preface it with the fact that I do do these things *sometimes* haha.
ReplyDeleteThings I don't do:
1) Paint my nails
2) Touch raw chicken
3) Arts and crafts
4) Wear eye shadow
5) Make my bed
6) Always answer my phone
7) Hem pants myself
8) Stay up late
9) Force myself to like beer or wine
10) Hang out with small children
11) Regularly look "cute"
kiley