“Be moderate in order to taste the joys of life in abundance.” Epicurus
Happy Monday and Welcome to March!
I hope things have gone well in your world this week! There’s so much to consider these days that I’m guessing prioritizing has been challenging. I don’t think it’s necessarily a local experience. I’m hearing reports from friends worldwide that begin with phrases like “…what the heck…” and recount stories of unusual feelings of being out of sorts while sharing extraordinary experiences.
People are overwhelmed and overburdened by the amount of messaging they receive. This deluge of information doesn’t just come from work; there are countless responsibilities to manage at home. We struggle to differentiate between our priorities and desires, and the demands on our time seem never-ending.
Think about our quiet time, for example. I don’t know about you, but I struggle with shutting down my brain to spend time in prayer and meditation. The minute I sit down to spend some quality time in contemplation, a secret signal goes off in my brain, reminding me of every little thing on my mind for the last two weeks and continuing until a month from March 3, 2027. Really? What the heck?
I call it Martha Syndrome (no offense intended to those of you whose name is Martha!) because it reminds me of the story in Scripture:
“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore, tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 (NKJV)
Okay, guilty as charged! I’m tired of missing the good part! So, it got me thinking again about work/life balance and why it’s so important to discipline ourselves in play and work. I found this quote from Epicurus, who was an ancient philosopher that is certainly food for thought:
The instruction here is to practice moderation. You’ve probably heard the saying, do all things in moderation, and that’s good advice, but let’s take a deeper dive. Moderation isn’t something that occurs automatically. We must be intentional about how, why, and what we moderate.
Moderation involves reasonably tracking our time and energy expenditures and appropriately limiting how much we do, say, think, emote, and ruminate. It requires effort and intentionality. The benefit of this practice, however, is that it fosters happiness. We create space to taste what life offers and utilize our moderation to embrace abundant joy. We manage by balancing the tension between overindulging in often functional activities and accepting abundance in the positive aspects of life.
Yes, a strong work ethic is essential. But we also need to strengthen our resistance muscles. We must resist the urge to take on more than is necessary. We must resist the tendency to work just one more hour. We must resist the need to cut our vacation time short. We must resist the desire to skip self-care, meditation time, exercise, and lunch to tend to all the other things on our lists.
We must also resist the temptation to oversleep and miss meaningful engagements and appointments. We must resist calling out sick because of an annoying task, colleague, or boss. We must resist the desire to engage in irresponsible actions that steal the true joys in our lives.
Let’s take some time this week to assess our ability to moderate effectively. In certain areas, we may be able to adjust easily. Others may require more time, but they might be worth the consideration and effort. Let’s renew our sense of moderation, taste the joys, and allow abundance to become our reality!
Be Well & Be Blessed!
Lucinda
