Is my best really
the best? Can I honestly consider "my best" the best if I'm not
always continuing to learn how to do better?
Maya Angelou once
said, "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know
better, do better". I'd like to take that one step further to say that you
should always be seeking to know better. We humans don't come equipped with all
the knowledge we need - unfortunately. ;)
When a friend in my
mom group said she was reading a book about whether or not people in general
are doing the best they possibly can do, right off the bat, I thought yes. At
least, I thought I was. Not necessarily everyone else. I'm a pusher, a dreamer,
a goal maker, someone with aspirations. Of course, I'm trying my absolute best
most of the time. However, as this idea has simmered in my mind over the last
year, I've realized another key to doing one's best is prioritizing the things
that really require your absolute best because we really cannot do it all well.
Being intentional takes much energy so I am learning that I need to prioritize
what I really, really want to spend my energy on if I want to do my best.
If I could pick one
priority it would be my family. Included with family is raising kids among
other things but for the sake of keeping this post short, I'll stick to one
example. Earlier this year Matt and I attended a Biblical Parenting Principles
and Practical Help class and it was then that I realized that if I wanted to
raise God loving humans who are well prepared in all situations it was going to
require so much more than I was doing. While I often sit and simmer in
frustration wondering what my purpose in life is, I can be sure raising my kids
is part of it and stepping up to do that well is my calling (at least one of my callings).
What does parenting
well look like? Wouldn't we all like to know?!
While I cannot
answer this question, I can share some things I know I need to focus on to do
my best and to keep doing better.
- Take care of my body through
proper nutrition, exercise and sleep. These are not my strong points and
yet weigh heavily on my ability to do anything at my best, especially
parenting.
- Learn more, be more informed. For example, I've recently started reading the book, "Tending the Heart of Virtue -
How Classic Stories Awaken a Child's Moral Imagination. This is opening my
eyes to the lofty task of parents "to be mentors to our children in
the moral life". (Guroian 4) Along with that it has made me realize
that I need to keep pursuing how to cultivate my kids hearts at home
because I don't know all the many things that could enrich this experience
for us all.
- Spend quality time with my
kids. This seems rather obvious but for any parents reading this, then you
know, there's a hundred other things that I could be doing that seem more
important than sitting down and playing with my kids - a hundred - but if
sitting on the couch and reading one book makes my kids feel loved and
feel valuable as well as teach them to be generous with their time in relationships, then
the laundry can wait. (Granted, I don't think the laundry should wait all
week, there is value in teaching kids to be good stewards of our home, but
balance).
A person can really
only do one thing well at a time so while I'd also love to dive deeper into
creating a non-toxic home environment, write more and grow my blog, take photos
for a magazine shoot, etc., I'm working on family first and that's the best I can
do (for now).
***All photos taken at the Thomas Family Farm 1st Annual Sunflower Festival. Denim inspired outfit: top (j.crew), jeans (madewell), boots (hunter), bracelet (kiel james Patrick).