The Art of Living
28 Nov 2009 ~ Categories: blog • body • mind • wellness
“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether his is working or playing. To him, he’s always doing both.”
That’s a quote I love, by James Michener. Pretty much covers it, right?
In a nutshell, this message captures how I aspire to treat my own life. Rather than compartmentalizing work versus personal time, I treat the two as extensions of one other. And while it hasn’t always been as clear as that for me, and it continues to be a work in progress, I love to integrate. When I practice taking my yoga “off the mat” and into the world, this integration brings more connection, balance, and breath to my experience.
I know it may be easier for me to set out on this goal of integrated work and play since I co-own a business and intentionally created an environment with more freedom to connect my life. And I know that for many of my friends who choose instead to work a “job” job, it can be a tougher project to stay connected to themselves at their 9-5.
Wise folks say that the key to success in a career (or even a job) is to find a way to get paid for what you already love to do. For myself, founding International Orange, fostering a wellness community, and developing a line of organic skin and hair care products that I truly believe in, has been very energizing and rewarding (although not always a breeze). And the adventure continues.
When we have the guts to seek out our own blessings, the world begins to morph for us and it can actually happen quickly. In the way that the choices we make open up certain doors for us, what we choose, becomes who we are. And we always have choices, as frightening as they may sometimes seem.
But if we still feel we can’t make a shift now, then what do we do? Make one anyway. Okay, but if we still aren’t ready to do that, then what? Then we find the part(s) of our job or situation that do feed us, and focus there. A calm, joyful attitude will open a window in the mind to let the breeze in.
Integrating,
Amy
