Make equal room for work and play
"God respects me when I work, but he loves me when I sing."
— Rabindranath Tagore
Balance is key to living a fulfilling life. The more unbalanced and chaotic our lives are, the more difficult and unmanageable they become. We have all been through this.
The main reason for this imbalance is that we give importance to one single area of our lives, or prioritize one single activity over others, believing that this particular thing is the main source we can rely on to live a happier and more fruitful life.
But like strategic investing, putting all our eggs in one basket is never a wise move. Diversification is of prime importance in our lives as well.
I’m sure you would’ve heard the popular adage: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Many of us have pursued our happiness by immersing ourselves in work with little time for anything else. And when we do engage ourselves in a fun-filled activity, such as singing, dancing, or playing with friends or kids (or friends’ kids), a feeling of guilt starts looming over our heads. Guilt that we are not using our precious time wisely, that we are distancing ourselves from our purpose.
And for others, downtime activities such as shopping, gambling, drinking, or even online streaming and scrolling, to name a few, which initially started as a healthy dose of play, ended up becoming a curse. And now, as recovering addicts, we are scared and find it risky to participate in any kind of recreational playfulness whatsoever.
Choosing the middle road is definitely a pragmatic possibility. We can for sure find avenues to have more balance in our lives. Making boundaries and religiously sticking to them, when it comes to work and play, will take us far.
We must honor both brilliance and vibrance in ourselves, and figure out ways to express them in a healthy manner. If we want spiritual vitality to bloom, we must make room for both serious endeavors as well as lighthearted play in our everyday lives.
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