I don’t have an official full-time job but my part-time job as a freelance writer that I do from my home-based office feels like a “full-time” commitment. Also, as a mom, I’m on call 24/7. When I’m not with the kids or my husband, I am with my computer doing interviews, writing, editing and pitching stories. I happen to be one of the lucky ones who enjoy the work that I do. However, that doesn’t make it any easier to juggle family and work responsibilities.
I know that I am not the only woman (or man) challenged with balancing their family and work life. When my children were little, and I wasn’t writing at all, I was still trying to figure out how to care for infants and preschoolers and manage a house. Back then, I couldn’t figure out how to do simple chores, such as pick up the cleaners and cook dinner, while maintaining a feeding and sleeping schedule for the little ones.
As I was looking at different websites online this morning, I noticed that the Fairfield Woods branch of the Fairfield Library is offering a one-day workshop called “An Introduction to Mindfulness” on Tuesday, April 5. It is led by Joy LeVine Abrams, who teaches programs in Mindfulness training and yoga. She will share her knowledge about meditation, body awareness and ways to relax. She will also discuss “mindful eating.”
I went to her website (mindfulofjoy.com) and saw that her program is based on author Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program. I regularly read meditations from Dr. Zinn’s book, “Wherever You Go, There You Are.” The concepts of breathing and staying in the moment are familiar to me; the struggle for me has been to practice this skill more often throughout the day. I have always said I am most at peace early in the morning, before anyone else in my house has woken up, and before any kind of demand is put upon me. When the outside world intervenes — even when it’s loved ones awakening — my serenity often is lost.
As I’m interviewing subjects over the telephone, driving the kids to after school activities, and cooking dinner, I would like to remember to be calm and mindful so that I might enjoy each moment of my beautiful life.
A workshop, such as the one presented by Joy at the Fairfield Library’s Woods branch, will hopefully reignite my resolve to let go of some of the every day stresses so that I could feel whole and healthy.
There is no cost for the Fairfield workshop on April 5, but registration is required. For more information, call 203-255-8815.
