A Patchwork Life

In an era when entire states are in serious economic distress and dismal financial news hits closer to home, I don’t think it’s unusual or unexpected for many among us (especially those facing birthdays) to be experiencing existential panic attacks of the short-lived variety. I had my own today after watching my kids struggle with some emotional-friendship-related stuff and feeling so powerless to help them, and oh, it hurt, enough to make me feel frightened and vulnerable for a little while. Then I gave my girls lots of hugs and ate some homemade fudgy-peanut-butter candy I made today, and felt a bit better.

Anyway, I’ve been thinking about happiness for a good while now, and trying to build my own happiness toolbox. I read an article recently on defining your core values and ordering your life around it. The article was targeted at personal finance, but I find it resonant when thinking about parenting, careers, issues of work-life balance and policies, and really, my entire life lately. Whether you find five or have a much longer list, I think it’s an incredibly important exercise, one worth revisiting, whether you follow a certain spiritual practice or not. For me, watching my girls today and struggling with a minor bout of the mean reds, it helps me to think about what I really want our life and our family to be about, and to keep those values– creativity, compassion, discovery, family, grace, joy, passion, liberation and so much more– close to my heart and mind when I feel buffeted by storms great and small.