An Ordinary Girl's World: Fashion, Love, Life: Life's Little Lessons: Put it into perspective

Sunday, 13 June 2010

Life's Little Lessons: Put it into perspective

20:39

Dearest Devotees,

Studying all hours of the night, constantly chewing caffeine gums so as not to crash, being so frazzled that you don't even realize that your hair looks like it hasn't seen a comb in days (or weeks!), forgetting all your appointments because you thought it was Friday when it was really Wednesday, honestly my darlings if this sounds anything like you, you need to stop.

Just stop.

"But how is everything you need to get done going to get done?" you may ask.

Look at it this way.

Let's say you go ahead and pull not 1, not 2 but 5 consecutive all nighters and on the day of the exam you somehow managed to remain conscious enough to write your name on the paper. There is a very high chance that a few minutes into the exam, the graveyard silence of the room will be lull you from your already dream-like state into total unconsciousness. By the time you wake up you find that you have 10 minutes left to do 5 essay questions. You may remember the answers, (unlikely, considering your current state of panic) but there is no way that you would be able to finish any of the 5 questions sufficiently in that time. So you do what you can and dejectedly turn in your nowhere-near complete paper.

The above situation might seem a bit extreme, but trust me it really can happen. I really do know what I'm talking about too because unfortunately I'm speaking from experience. No I didn't fall asleep for a majority of my exam time but I have been so exhausted that I could have sworn things were moving of their own volition during my exam. I have also been so overcome with fatigue that I had a nervous breakdown in the exact midpoint of my exam and forgot everything. I got everything up until that and ended up with half of the total grade.

Last week, after coming late for another study session because I slept through my alarms again, I decided that it just wasn't worth it. I made a conscious decision to start making as much use of almost every minute of my waking time so that I would never have to cut into my sleeping time again. A friend of mine had fallen really ill because she was so susceptible to any illness that came her way due to exhaustion. Ignoring my physical and emotional needs for sleep, for exercise, for self-expression through my art, and for solitude was not doing me any favors. During that exam, I felt like I was losing it and that it was not worth it for me to lose my mind to get the grade I wanted. I never want to feel like I'm actually going crazy again.

I know I said in Never Alone that artistic spirits need to enjoy solitude every once in awhile in order to access inspiration, but more important than that, everyone needs a little bit of solitude so that they can have the time to put everything back into perspective. If you are always doing and not stopping to see the effects of what you've done or taking stock of what's really important, life can become empty really quickly. You could begin to feel like a hamster in a wheel, always running but without getting anywhere. If you look at it this way, taking some time for yourself to put everything in perspective will let your body and mind recuperate, give you a chance to re-evaluate your life and renew your will to carry on by letting you see your progress and reminding you of what is important. Taking some time to put everything in perspective is worth it.

Love you all and Stay inspired,

P.S. So let me know what you think. Are you constantly on the move? How do you feel when you/ what do you learn about yourself when you actually have a chance to put everything in perspective. Feel free to let me know in the comments below.

All images from We Heart it.

Labels: life, Life's Little Lessons

10 comments:

Jeff King said...: Life does get busy and presser build to give your time to everyone else around you leaving no time for the writing or things we love to do... things we must do to be happy.

Finding inspiration is easy--finding the time isn't.

thx for sharing.; 14 June 2010 at 13:32
Elaine said...: We all need a wider perspective on life. Different people receive that inspiration in different ways. For me, it's by going to church every Sunday.

clothed much, a modest fashion blog; 14 June 2010 at 19:01
Debbie said...: Thanks for this encouraging post. :-)

I mentioned you in my latest blog award! I really look forward to your response, because I'm sure you'll write something beautiful.; 15 June 2010 at 11:11
emma wallace said...: Great post! I had an awakening like that when I was in college full-time, while working three jobs. I actually had three car accidents within months of each other! Fortunately no one was hurt, but I finally realized I ought to scaaaaale things back a bit!; 15 June 2010 at 20:34
Audrey Allure said...: I definitely experienced something like this before. I was working an internship with another job at Fashion Week, and having classes as well. I was moving around so much, I felt myself falling asleep during class haha. We all definitely need some rest.; 16 June 2010 at 06:26
Melissa Blake said...: Great blog!; 17 June 2010 at 06:31
cass and cady said...: Thanks for the comment. I really like your perspective on this. Yes, it seems some days and weeks are crazy for me.; 17 June 2010 at 09:15
ellie said...: I so much needed to read this post. Great job!; 17 June 2010 at 09:15
meg said...: I like your first hand experience at this that you are sharing with us. I hope you are having a good week.; 17 June 2010 at 09:23
Cafe Fashionista said...: I'm constantly on the move myself; though I feel far less anxious when I have the time to put things into perspective and just think and enjoy life for once. :); 17 June 2010 at 11:06