Keeping Pace with Life

Sunday, September 1, 2013
Mr Bee - photo taken near my house~

When people ask me what I've been up to, and I tell them my five main things: study, resting, reading, blogging, and vlogging - occasionally they ask some questions. 'How can you fit in all the reading for the Aurealis Awards when you're trying to deal with study and your health at the same time?' Even more rarely, there's outright disbelief - "I don't think you can be reading that much, particularly when you're so sick!"

Okay, so maybe they're not that straightforward, but sometimes I can see the questions or the disbelief in their eyes, or see it hiding behind their words. Perhaps that's a reflection of my own fears. Either way, it's there, and I have chosen to give you nice people my three main tactics when it comes to keeping up with life.

Tactic One: Get Organised
Organisation is something I have zest for. I am devoted to stationery in a way that most people reserve for shoes or bags. (Not as much as books, though. Books always come first.) I make a point of trying to keep to a schedule of posting for my blog, and I write little reminders for myself to film new videos for my youtube channel. I make a note in my diary for when any assignments are due, and I keep to-do lists of all kinds to keep up with readings. I have a little book dedicated to my Aurealis Awards books, where I keep notes on the storyline, setting, and characters. 
In short, I spend a LOT of time at my desk. I don't think I would have decided to do these things if I didn't think I could get organised for them.

Tactic Two: Allow for Hiccups
With my health often interjecting to remind me of things ('you're not over that cold yet!', 'remember how you get tired a lot?', 'random pain alert!'), I always need to have a plan B in store. I need to be able to give myself time to recover, or at least to take things a bit slower. I need to ALLOW for those times when everything just falls down and I can't get out of bed.
Yes, I do still have times where I get overly frustrated that I'm 'still' sick, but I believe I'm getting better at dealing with them.
Rest always needs to factor in - even if it takes the form of doing study in bed.

Tactic Three: Enthusiasm and Craving
I could have just as easily written 'passion' here, but I feel like that word is overused a bit. Either way, if I wasn't absolutely crazy about reading and writing, I wouldn't try to do what I'm doing. It would make no sense. I crave the written word. If I go too long without reading, I feel a bit strange.
I am so enthusiastic about books that I started a youtube channel DEDICATED to talking about books. I actively seek out people who love books like I do, and I long for the perfect book club. Books and writing: they're my thing, guys.

The above three points could be applied to a lot of things, but I think it just highlights how a 'go with the flow' kind of approach to life can be invaluable. I'm not saying be so laid-back that you don't care about anything (that would negate the whole 'craving' bit), but just recognise when you're holding on to things too tightly, and be willing to let them go.
Love to all who read.

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