Wonderful post. Thank you for sharing. The struggle between “Enjoy this moment, you could die any day” and “Sometimes I need to make sacrifices to get ahead in my career” is such a challenge. However, I think recognizing it is a good sign that you are trying to find the balance.
I'm so sorry to hear about your mom's death Daniel. For me it was such a traumatic experience, even though our relationship was complicated. Moms are a life structure. For me, grief was much longer than I expected. One Jewish tradition gave me more self-compassion. They have a tradition of a second funeral-type-event one year after the death to mark the end of the FIRST period of grief. In the US, it feels like oncce the funeral is over, it's time to move on. This Jewish tradition gave me the recognition that it's a much longer journey, and I could have more patience and tenderness with my grief instead of wishing it away faster. Sending thoughts and prayers.
Love this perspective. Great reminder to give yourself permission to do what’s right for you, and that what’s right for you will inevitably change. Life is too short to live by someone else’s rules.
Thanks for sharing. For us passionate about our career and craft, it's always good to step back and clear that blur between "dedication" and simply overlooking, or taking for granted, many other parts of life.
Loved the analogy with seasons! The combination of rest and effort is in our lives by design. Seasons, day and night, sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. Both rest and effort exist and they're both helpful!
Amazing post... and mortality is definitely top of mind for me these days. A 48 year old friend just got diagnosed with stage 4 cancer (colon, lungs, abdominal wall, etc.). She won't see the other side of 50.
So sorry to hear about your friend, Jeff. Such a tough time. When my mom got sick, people didn't know what to say and perhaps had big feelings of sadness about their own mortality. Many didn't say anything or withdrew. Lean in and love her up! The best part of death is how much it creates moments of friendship and love that you otherewise might not see.
I completely agree. I’m not one to shy away from the topic. Recently I was together with her and her husband (who I’ve been friends with since 2nd grade) and was asking them what the most frustrating experiences/responses they’ve had from people.
Their response was about the people who try to turn the cancer into good news in order to avoid their own discomfort about addressing mortality.
Wonderful post. Thank you for sharing. The struggle between “Enjoy this moment, you could die any day” and “Sometimes I need to make sacrifices to get ahead in my career” is such a challenge. However, I think recognizing it is a good sign that you are trying to find the balance.
As always, so well put. My mom died earlier this year and it's been devastating in such unexpected ways. Thank you for the book recommendation.
I'm so sorry to hear about your mom's death Daniel. For me it was such a traumatic experience, even though our relationship was complicated. Moms are a life structure. For me, grief was much longer than I expected. One Jewish tradition gave me more self-compassion. They have a tradition of a second funeral-type-event one year after the death to mark the end of the FIRST period of grief. In the US, it feels like oncce the funeral is over, it's time to move on. This Jewish tradition gave me the recognition that it's a much longer journey, and I could have more patience and tenderness with my grief instead of wishing it away faster. Sending thoughts and prayers.
I had not thought about a different period of grief and I love the idea of a 2nd event. Thank you. Sending you love.
Love this perspective. Great reminder to give yourself permission to do what’s right for you, and that what’s right for you will inevitably change. Life is too short to live by someone else’s rules.
Thanks for sharing. For us passionate about our career and craft, it's always good to step back and clear that blur between "dedication" and simply overlooking, or taking for granted, many other parts of life.
Yes! It's actually my passion for my career that makes the pull between the two even harder sometimes!
This was so timely and an incredibly helpful shift perspective for me on this that was long overdue— thank you!
Loved the analogy with seasons! The combination of rest and effort is in our lives by design. Seasons, day and night, sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. Both rest and effort exist and they're both helpful!
Amazing post... and mortality is definitely top of mind for me these days. A 48 year old friend just got diagnosed with stage 4 cancer (colon, lungs, abdominal wall, etc.). She won't see the other side of 50.
Life is short.
So sorry to hear about your friend, Jeff. Such a tough time. When my mom got sick, people didn't know what to say and perhaps had big feelings of sadness about their own mortality. Many didn't say anything or withdrew. Lean in and love her up! The best part of death is how much it creates moments of friendship and love that you otherewise might not see.
I completely agree. I’m not one to shy away from the topic. Recently I was together with her and her husband (who I’ve been friends with since 2nd grade) and was asking them what the most frustrating experiences/responses they’ve had from people.
Their response was about the people who try to turn the cancer into good news in order to avoid their own discomfort about addressing mortality.