Dyb, dyb, dyb!

In today’s society I feel there is a huge pressure to be perfect, and not just perfect at one thing, but perfect in every aspect of life. Even if your life isn’t flawless there is this idea that one has to portray the fact that it is.

When you get asked the question “How are you?”, how often do you reply with an “I’m fine, life is great”, when inside you are feeling overwhelmed and that things might not be as bright as you would like. Do we respond in that way for fear of how people might react to our slightly less than positive, perfect response?

Over the summer months that pressure seems to get even greater. That pressure to create the most wonderful summer and give the children the most memorable holidays, with the perfect mix of activity and down time is exhausting. But the more the pressure builds the more I struggle with my energy levels being spread so thinly and that feeling of not doing anything as well as I’d like!

But in those moments I ask myself does it really matter if my children don’t clean their teeth one night, or my yoga practice ends up being 10 minutes instead of one hour, or that I don’t get round to making the healthy plant-based recipe I pulled out from the supplements for the 9th weekend on the run? Let’s not even mention the evening mediation practice that has gone out the window ever since the children have decided that in the summer months their bedtime is now 10pm!

There is a massive feeling of guilt that surrounds the roles that I play in life; as mother, friend, daughter, sister, neighbour, boss, colleague or teacher. But I hope you can agree that we cannot do it all. It’s impossible to give all areas of life 100% enthusiasm all of the time and actually wouldn’t we be better off allowing ourselves to take rest and not feel guilty about doing so? All that really matters surely is that we do our best, with the energy and resources that we have in that moment on that day. As the Scouts say DYB, DYB, DYB, do your best, not be your best, but do your best.

So the next time you notice that you are struggling, pause and know that you are not alone and remember we are all muddling along through this miracle we call life, it’s not an easy ride but it’s the best one we shall ever have.

Take a deep breath, hold your head high, and don’t forget as Glennon Doyle author of Untamed says “we can do hard things”.

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