Wait, what?

I'm usually all about UNplugging through stillness and slow living, now I'm asking you plug IN?

Hear me out...

~~~

For many years, I focused on unplugging from my 9-5 job at the end of the day, most of the time because I was frustrated. Today I like my job, but I still take it home with me most nights – mentally and sometimes physically. Sometimes it's harder to unplug now because I like what I'm doing and there's a lot of it to be done, which means I’m more likely to keep at it after hours.

But work is only one facet of my life. There are many others and it’s important for me to maintain a balance.

Here's where the plugging IN comes in.

Spending time in nature is important to me. So is spending time with D., making art, making a home, eating good food, reading, learning, writing...

One fine evening a few weeks ago, my mind was spinning with work-related worries and to-dos when I had an epiphany:

I realized that by trying so hard to unplug from the situation I wanted to leave behind (work) I was keeping it at the forefront of my mind. It was a classic case of “Wherever you focus you will go…”

Then I asked myself what would happen if, instead of focusing on what I want to unplug from, I focused on what I would like to plug into?

Ruminating about work?

Plug into chopping those veggies for dinner.

Reliving a conversation I wish had gone differently?

Plug into dance. Crank those tunes and feel the music in my core.

Wondering how I’ll get it all done?

Plug into play with Cassie, our Golden Retriever. Get down on the floor with her and feel the love.

Seriously, how could anyone resist that face? And those paws!

Worried about tomorrow’s meeting?

Plug into the story that's unfolding in the novel I'm reading.

And if I’m still having trouble letting work go?

I plug into work, yes. I jot down the to-dos, send myself reminder emails or set a specific amount of time to move forward on a deliverable. Sometimes dedicating a few focused minutes on what’s lingering is all I need to move on.

~~~

The concept of plugging in isn’t new. Be here & now, live in the moment, stay present, back to the breath, focus on what you want to manifest – it’s all similar. What’s new to me is experimenting with it in the context of unplugging from work and shifting my focus to what I’d like to be doing instead, like making dinner or catching up with D. or writing or reading.

This shift in focus and language becomes a simple, but effective tool for living in the moment AND with intention, whether I’m unplugging from work, from worry or from social media.

In the context of my 9-5 job it helps me maintain the balance I seek between work and other facets of life.

~~~

Feel like giving it a try? The next time you feel a need to unplug from something, whether it’s work or anything else that’s taking up a lot of space and energy, what if you tried to focus on what you’d like to plug into instead?

Don’t unplug, plug in.

Try it. Experiment. Let me know how it goes.

In spirit of simplicity and discovery,

Stephanie

Oh, hello.

I haven't seen you in (counting on fingers) six months.

Wow.

There's been a lot of living goin' on these past six months.

I started a new job. It's one of the toughest and steepest learning curves I've experienced and probably one of the best decisions I've made in a long time. There's so much to say about this shift in my life that it's overwhelming to think about it. I feel it will be its own blog post. Much to process there...

I wrote my first term paper in over 20 years and aced a university course on social communications. Woot!

After 20 years I dipped my toes into university life. It was an enlightening and expansive experience on many fronts.

I read The Desire Map, by Danielle LaPorte. It feels like a game changer. At least I think it does. I'll let you know in a few months.

I watched a lot of The Waltons and a lot of Little House on the Prairie (LHOTP). I bought the LHOTP box set at Costco, containing all nine seasons. Best. purchase. ever.

I read books. A LOT of books. At least four of them - probably five - were related to personal finance. I'm a nerd.

I'm not lying. There is a stack of four books on personal finance on my coffee table as I type. Cassie looks enthralled, don't you think?

I wrote my morning pages and continue to do so. They keep me grounded and clear-headed.

I slept. Goodness, I slept.

I spent 45 hours and 15 pages exploring the "Social Impact of Digitization and Technological Convergence in the Book Industry." Eff I'm proud of that! Did I mention it was the first term paper I wrote in over 20 years?

Once my term paper was submitted, I revelled in having absolutely no weekend plans for at least a month.

I spent a luxurious getaway in Toronto with D. I saw paintings by Cézanne and van Gogh at the Art Gallery of Ontario, wept at the beauty of underwater sea creatures and got my picture taken with the Stanley Cup. I caught up with a friend I hadn't seen in over a year. It was soul-filling.

Did I mention that I started a new job? Did I mention that it was (and still is) a steep learning curve? Did I also mention that for the first time in about 15-20 years I can say that I like my 9-5 job and am not desperate to find a way out? I'm still processing that. This is big. Really big.

I spent time in the studio and painted.

I continued Sketches from the Cube, Flora edition. I think I like it better than the Sketches from the Cube Portraits edition I did earlier last year. More to come on that in another post.

I danced with D. in the kitchen, I made soup. I tracked my finances and started flossing (finally!). I despaired at current events. I escaped in novels and curled up under wool blankets. I snowshoed in the night with friends on New Year's Eve. I baked homemade biscuits and savoured chili made by D. I pieced together jigsaw puzzles and drank tea. I celebrated a birthday. I celebrated a life. I shoveled snow and watched movies and did the laundry. I lived the every day.

Gustav Klimt's The Kiss as a jigsaw puzzle. It was a good one!

All of this, soul-filling.

It seems - term paper and new job excepted - that much of my living has been through seemingly mundane happenings that came and went without fanfare and could easily have been taken for granted.

This seemingly mundane unfolding of things brought me comfort, peace and joy, and I am grateful.

Enough about me.

I bet if you paused and took stock you'd discover that you've done a lot of living these past six months too.

The grand, the mundane, and everything in between.

Why don't you try it? It's easy, just start with "Oh, hello..."