"The Secret to Having it all..."

"The secret to having it all is Believing that you do."

This quote sits above my computer on my office windowsill. I see it every day as I write, mentor, edit, blog and do the many numerous tasks expected of a professional writer. But sometimes, more often than I like to admit, I don't feel professional.

I feel overwhelmed.
Under-appreciated.
Taxed.
Invisible.
Not understood.

The list could go on and usually does. What it takes from me is a shift in my thinking, what some might call a "reality check." Instead of feeling overwhelmed, it's easier to take a break and do something off my usual "beaten track," for example.

Today I chose out of a free seminar. I think my brain is still trying to digest the wisdom I learned from last week's lessons. But I had to tell myself that it was okay to miss it. What I am finding is that the more I open myself to new ideas and new adventures, the more that come!

Am I always ready to take them in?

Photo by Jill Clardy, courtesy of Flickr

Nope.

Could it be that life ebbs, flows and peaks  like a great ocean? Some days are going to be superb highs, others, introspective lows as the ocean waves slide into shore after a great cresting wave. Perhaps life isn't really about balance anyway, but an opportunity to experience life with all of its force as well as its penetrating silence.

Truly, I have all that I need.