Bamboozled on Life

I meet a lot of people who express interest in living more natural and being healthier. It seems weight, energy, sleep and just being free of pain are issues many of us deal with regularly. It’s these things I hear and see written on these kind yet stressed, tired faces:

I just wish I felt younger.

I want to fit into that pair of jeans tucked in the back of my closet again.

I want to enjoy my family instead of feeling winded and tired.

I want to feel good.

So what holds us back from having those things?

What is the Good Life?

Watching HGTV home buying shows make me laugh. Here’s a young couple just starting out in life. She’s a school teacher and he’s a IT programmer buying their first home with a $400,000+ budget.  Seriously? On top of student debt they both likely have and car payments let’s add a 30+ year mortgage exceeding more than either will make in a given month. But hey it’s the “good life” right?

We have been fed lies about what a good life is supposed to look like. The perfect house in a nice neighborhood, near good schools, close to shopping and an easy commute to work. A loving spouse with a couple kids, a dog, couple cars and more stuff in our homes than we can ever hope to use. Lots of friends, busy schedules and the occasional girls night or weekend to get away from it all.

If our lives are so good why do we want to get away from them so often? Why is self-care such a hot topic lately if our lives are fantastic? I’m not saying self-care is bad but what I’m saying is we have distorted the intent and our view of what happiness and feeling good really feels like.

If your kids’ schedule is not jam packed with games and after school activities you’re failing them as a parent. If you’re not working full time and balancing it all at home gracefully then you are definitely failing. If you’re not having regular date nights with your spouse and scheduling self-care well just what kind of life you living there?

Is there anything in our life we’re feeling like we’re doing well regularly?

I am constantly battling the feeling of being overwhelmed by my to-do list every day and I know you are too. It simply is too much sometimes. If this is what a good life is