Yesterday, I stole my bride of four years away for the evening. We both had deadlines looming, but we hadn’t had any alone time in many days. We went out to our boat, cooked up a couple of steaks, shared a bottle of wine and watched the sun set. We never even went sailing. We just sat and talked with no kids, no TV and no noise.
It would have been easy to say there was too much to do, but one of the things with writing about balance and priorities is that we have to walk our talk. This stuff is so much easier to teach than practice.
Because Dawn and I work from home, it’s even more critical for us to get away and have the time together without the distractions of the phone, email, faxes and computers. We really enjoy the time we spend with our friends and family, but I realized yesterday that my wife and I had been sailing only once before without several other people aboard.
I believe that we’ll always remember the first evening we spent alone on our new yacht but we won’t remember that Success Strategies was a couple of days late or the database Dawn was working on wasn’t quite done. The sun setting over the Adirondacks on the longest day of the year, the waves lapping against the hull, and the peace we experienced with our heart-to-heart talk will always be with us.
I wanted to share this story with you for several reasons. I wanted you to know that I, too, struggle with creating balance and living true to my values. This just happened to be a time I listened to my heart and did the right thing. I also wanted to remind you of the joy and peace that comes with simple pleasures. Taking time to smell the flowers has become even harder in this fast-paced, hectic 24-hour-a-day world. It takes commitment and diligence to make it happen but it’s worth it.
It’s now officially summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Plan your time off. Don’t pack too much activity into your vacation. Nurture yourself with nature. Listen to the wind. Watch the sun set or a moon rise. And renew your spirit. That way, your doingness will be created from your beingness instead of the other way around.
Best Life Truth: Your time, energy and money ALWAYS go to what is most important to you.
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