Slow & Steady

Greetings from Fort Worth!

Yes, I've moved again. As much as I adored Austin, it seemed I was spending hardly any time at all in the city. Every other weekend was spent traveling back and forth to DFW to participate in family gatherings, slumber party with the girls, or spend some QT with the boyfriend. At this point in my life, relationships are everything to me and so it made sense to go to where my heart was consistently leading. So here I am: home in Cow Town (for the second time)!

I, yet again, made the move before securing a new job (not for lack of trying, of course). And while I am wrestling with the inevitable anxiety of being unemployed, I am also trying to be thankful for this period of rest. It'll be no time before I'm back on the clock and wishing for a proper day of nothingness. I am embracing the peacefulness of my current schedule by relishing the simple things (staying up late, watching lots of Food Network and HGTV, having afternoon coffee with my honey, etc.), spending time with the Lord, and trying to be purposeful in my thoughts in actions.

I think it's so much easier to behave the way we want to--which, for me, means exhibiting graciousness, patience and love--when we aren't stressed or in negative environments. Unfortunately, we can't always avoid stressful or difficult situations. But allowing ourselves to be still and bolster our hearts and minds for those situations will inevitably aid us in getting through those circumstances with more grace. It's one thing to simply get the job done; but it's quite another (and infinitely more satisfying, in my opinion) to get the it done in a way that doesn't leave a wake of anger, frustration and missed opportunities to exhibit compassion.

And this brings me to my current meditation...

As I've been combing through hundreds of job postings and praying about my next professional move, I'm carefully considering the environments in which I am going to be most successful in continuing this mindful, purposeful pace. Raised by two incredibly hard-working entrepreneurs, I have clung to the mentality that productivity at work is the measure of value for a day well spent. I watched my parents do the work of about a four people each, rarely complaining about their load or stopping to catch their breath or have a glass of iced tea. That's just how they roll(ed).

So you can imagine the struggle I'm facing as I consider revising the way I value my days spent at the office (whatever office that will be). Rather than relish the chaos of accomplishing fifty tasks in an hour, leaving a trail of coffee stains and Post-Its behind me, it occurs to me that it may be prudent to find a position within an organization that affords me a steady pace of work, opportunities to get out of the office for a breath of fresh air and sunshine, and the chance to train my heart and tongue to living graciously at work.

I'm not even sure what that looks like, to be honest. But I sure would like to find out.

When do you feel most equipped to handle things well (whatever that means to you)? How do you carry that over into stressful situations?