What Have You Stopped Doing (that you use to really enjoy?)
Questions have power! 32 Questions: A Personal Quest Through Questions is my book. This is your invitation to engage with important questions to ask yourself. This week is all about Question #2 in 32 Questions: Have I Stopped doing something I used to really enjoy and need to start doing again? What did you love doing as a child? What did you do before you had kids or all the adult responsibilities that keep us so busy? What kind of things do you love to do, just for the sake of doing them? Writing, painting, hiking, cooking-it could be anything! These are important questions to ask yourself, they are questions that we sometimes forget or don’t think are important. Asking ourselves questions is an important tool for growth. What have you “stopped” doing that you use to really enjoy? Why did you stop? Did the grown-up tasks of washing windows, folding laundry and cooking dinner distract you from writing poems, taking pictures or painting? What if your windows had a few more streaks and you were able to create something? I love this question because it reminds us of who we are. We are not just the roles and responsibilities of today, this year, this season of our lives. The roles and responsibilities of today, are for a season, they will change. We are (still) the younger version of ourself who loved to wander outside, climb trees, doodle, paint or write stories. It is so easy to define ourselves by who we are right now. This question reminds us that we are more than what this season of our life requires. What if you took some time to do the thing that you use to enjoy? In some ways, this whole blog experiment is my answer to the question. I have always enjoyed writing, thinking about things and putting words to those ponderings. I stopped the practice of writing regularly in my early 20’s when I got a J-O-B. (Brene Brown talks about not doing A-R-T because she had a J-O-B.) Then I became a mama, there was not any time to write. I probably wrote a lot in my head but there is nothing on paper, just the thoughts of a tired mama while folding the laundry. My 2019 reading challenge is another answer to this question. I’ve always loved to read and over the past eleven years (the age of my son…) I had a hard time finding the time (and let’s face it, energy and brainpower) to read. When I challenged myself in January to read 52 books, I thought I probably would be able to do it, but I honestly didn’t know. This year has reminded me that I love to read, and I love to read fiction books too! I had basically stopped reading fiction. This year I’ve been reminded what joy a great fiction book can be. Welcoming these parts of me, back to myself, has been pure delight. Reacquainting myself with the writer and reader in me has brought joy and alignment to the “roles and responsibilities” that this season of my life calls for. When I decided to make the time, I have found the time. (I bet the same will be true for you!) The benefits have outweighed any of the sacrifices. What have YOU stopped doing, that you use to really enjoy, that YOU could start doing again? Self-care is not selfish. Your decision to paint, volunteer, write, read, bake or hike, whatever your answer is; is a gift to yourself and to those you love. As I have developed a practice of reading and writing over the past year I’ve seen my kids become better and more enthusiastic readers and my daughter sit down to write stories and poems. What seemed for a second like a selfish choice, has become a part of our family culture and introduced my kids to new parts of their unique personalities. Asking ourselves questions is an important part of an ongoing self-care routine. Whatever your answer to the question is, can you find time to do it? Make a plan for when, where and how you’ll answer this question. Put an appointment with yourself on the calendar to do your answer to the question. Honor that commitment to read a book, draw, paint, hike, jump rope whatever brings you joy and feeds your soul. Invite a friend to join you if that helps. Give yourself permission to spend an hour doing something you enjoy, that you use to do, but stopped. It’s time well spent! We have to be braver than we think we can be, because God is constantly calling us to be more than we are. ~Madeleine L’Engle SUGGESTED READING: Let Your Life Speak; Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker Palmer 32 Questions by Amy Hoppock (Follow along with your own workbook!) Enter your email to subscribe– It’s only ever used to notify you of new questions from The Art of Powering Down.
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