It’s no secret that teachers are struggling. When I was a teacher, making a huge 5 figures a year, I often had to figure out how to make ends meet. For a long time in my early career, I held a second job. Today we read about teachers who drive for Uber or wait tables on the weekends instead of getting the rest they need. Teacher’s salaries have not risen enough to cover their housing and food costs. It’s well-documented how difficult teaching has become in the US where we worry about being shot daily while learning our ABCs. Stress upon stress.
It’s not just teaching. Many people these days work more than one job. The work world dominates our lives, and most people can’t find a way off the merry-go-round. We’re expected to do more and more while our bodies cry out for less and less.
In a society where we are pushed to get ahead and encouraged to work ever harder, the idea of Slow Forward isn’t just an oxymoron, it’s also a paradox.
In my study over the years with Megan Macedo in these writing challenges and workshops I’ve attended, one theme is always clear – “Do the work only you can do.” By sharing our stories, by creating things that also make our hearts sing, we can do our true work. Our true work may look nothing like the corporate paradigm. If we do our true work, people find us and want to work with us. In a world where everything feels fake, people are deeply attracted to authenticity.
Slow Forward is the authentic expression of how I try to live my life now, even though, paradoxically, I’m a person who totally bought into fast and faster. After working as hard as I could for so many years, I know that’s not sustainable. For my sanity, slowing down and choosing only the work I want to do allows me to be my most authentic self. As a person who works part time, I have the luxury and privilege to do this at this point in my life.
I recognize that that is not possible for everyone.
Still, I encourage you, in whatever ways are available to you – take time for yourself. Go for an observation walk in the woods. Get out in a garden. Curl up with a good book. Take a nap or a bath. Meditate. Come have an Alexander Technique lesson with me. Whatever it is that can slow you down and provide you some self-care; put it on your calendar and prioritize it. It’s amazing how much clearer your true work will become.
It’s not just teaching. Many people these days work more than one job. The work world dominates our lives, and most people can’t find a way off the merry-go-round. We’re expected to do more and more while our bodies cry out for less and less.
In a society where we are pushed to get ahead and encouraged to work ever harder, the idea of Slow Forward isn’t just an oxymoron, it’s also a paradox.
In my study over the years with Megan Macedo in these writing challenges and workshops I’ve attended, one theme is always clear – “Do the work only you can do.” By sharing our stories, by creating things that also make our hearts sing, we can do our true work. Our true work may look nothing like the corporate paradigm. If we do our true work, people find us and want to work with us. In a world where everything feels fake, people are deeply attracted to authenticity.
Slow Forward is the authentic expression of how I try to live my life now, even though, paradoxically, I’m a person who totally bought into fast and faster. After working as hard as I could for so many years, I know that’s not sustainable. For my sanity, slowing down and choosing only the work I want to do allows me to be my most authentic self. As a person who works part time, I have the luxury and privilege to do this at this point in my life.
I recognize that that is not possible for everyone.
Still, I encourage you, in whatever ways are available to you – take time for yourself. Go for an observation walk in the woods. Get out in a garden. Curl up with a good book. Take a nap or a bath. Meditate. Come have an Alexander Technique lesson with me. Whatever it is that can slow you down and provide you some self-care; put it on your calendar and prioritize it. It’s amazing how much clearer your true work will become.
The joy of an Alexander Technique lesson.
Photo credit, Lorikay Photography
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