Throwing My Heart Over the Bars: A Teacher Seeks Balance

"Advice from a veteran trapeze performer:

Throw your heart over the bars and your body will follow."

                                                                                                                  -Anonymous

I once had a friend who could put both of her feet over her shoulders and hook them around her neck.  Then she would balance on her hands.  She would demonstrate this circus-freak talent whenever the wine was flowing, or in the passenger seat of my car when on our way to a girls' weekend.  Passer-bys would freak out at the spectacle, and she would laugh uncontrollably.  It is safe to assume that she appeared unbalanced in her balancing acts. 

Every year, I choose a theme.  I don't do resolutions or goals.  I choose a yearly theme for my life.  One year, I chose to focus on simplicity.  That year, I cleaned out clutter: Physical and emotional junk.  I let go of many of my complicating behaviors and toxic relationships.  Last year, I chose  health for my theme, and I quit smoking.  I went to the doctor appointments I had been putting off way too long. 

This year, my theme is balance. Although I love yoga, I am not flexible like my entertaining friend.  I can't balance on my hands, and I certainly can't balance on them with my legs tucked behind my neck.  Heck, I can barely get my legs tucked under me to sit on the floor.

My theme is balance because I have struggled with having balance in my life since I was a child. I am the kind of teacher who tends to eat, breathe, and sleep her job. I am a work-aholic.  I love to write, hence this blog. I love to create.  I love to hike and run.  I love to cook. I love paint and draw. I love to play my piano and Native American flute.  I love my family. I love my students. I love my friends.  I love...BUT my life is out of balance.  I think too much about the future and cry too much over the past.  I have trouble focusing on the present.  What does this cause?  It causes depression, unhappiness, and my favorite...anxiety.  I complete tasks and projects for work, for my family, for my friends, but I forget to take care of my basic needs: Eating healthfully, sleeping adequately, exercising regularly, and having fun. Yes, you read that right...having fun. 

I recently attended a wedding of a friend.  The DJ was phenomenal, and I danced with my girlfriends for the first time in years.  It occurred to me later that weekend, that I couldn't remember the last time I had had so much fun.  I really couldn't remember the last time I laughed uncontrollably or danced like my hair was on fire.  This makes me sad.  For all my efforts and love of life, I'm out of balance.   This year is about balance.  This year is about recapturing my joy.  I'm going to throw my heart over the bars!

During the first week of each month, I will be posting about how I'm finding balance in my teaching and personal life.  I'll be choosing a focus for the month, reflecting on the month before, and sharing freebie reflection and calendar pages.    So let's get started for January 2016!

My focus for January 2016 is reclaiming my practice of eating healthfully and moving my body everyday.  When I go into my hyper-focused state, I sit for hours writing or reading.  I order take out food or stay up too late. Mornings come too early, and I leave for work without a lunch packed, and often without eating breakfast.  I come home from school to piano students waiting in my driveway.  I teach until 6 or 7 p.m.  I eat dinner standing over the kitchen sink.  Then, I find a documentary on youtube and begin creating products, writing blog posts, or preparing for the next school day or week.  I may walk the dog, but with the apocalypse of the holidays, that has gone by the wayside, too.

This month, I'll be preparing meals ahead of time, and before I work at night or on the weekend.  I'm going to go out to eat no more than once a week.  I'll be using my super-cool calendar and journaling pages to track my progress.  At the end of January, I'll be writing about my successes and mistakes. 
These are the resources I'll be using this month.  One of them is free for you to grab!

This month, I am fortunate enough to partner with amazing educators on the topic of BALANCE.  Be sure to check out their ways of finding balance in their professional and/or personal lives. I'd also love to hear from you! How do you find balance in your teaching life?  Please take the time to comment and share YOUR wisdom.

                                            Until next time, teach on, my friends and Happy New Year!
                                                                                            Tracy @
                                                                                                    

P.S.  For a balance update, check out http://mossyoakmusings.blogspot.com/2016/01/finding-balance-doing-fandango.html

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