Do you have organizational envy?
Have you ever looked at someone else’s life and just wished you “had it together” like they did?
I sure have.
Take the linen closet below, for example. Love. Wish I had mine together like this woman does. I mean, she actually shaped yarn into the words “hair,” “skin,” etc., and glued them onto the bins artfully. Genius! I know I’d break out into a big grin every time I opened the closet door if I knew beautiful bins like that would greet me.
Interestingly though, most of the time I actually don’t envy physical organization. I can live with a little chaos – although I would prefer to be in a pristine environment. I have systems in place that ensure my own environment stays within pretty neat boundaries.
No, the kind of organizational genius I envy has to do with mental with-it-ness.
Those people who are busy but not crazed. Have a successful professional life, but not at the expense of a personal life. They volunteer — and make sure their children volunteer. They read books. They cook, exercise, and maybe even have a hobby or two. They sleep too. And not just 4 hours – a full 7 or 8 hours a night. They respond to emails and are on facebook, but they aren’t tethered to a mobile device; they put their smart phone down when they are in the presence of other human beings.
They are present. And filled with purpose.
That is who I want to be.
On many days I feel a million miles from that. But on some days, everything clicks and I know I have it in me.
The green-eyed monster only rears its head (albeit fiercely) on those days when I am feeling the farthest thing from purposeful. Perhaps it is because I know I have it in me and am afraid. Afraid I am failing. Afraid I will look back and see a life that could have been lived with greater purpose. Less busyness.
Maybe instead of simply feeling envious, I should learn to recognize the initial flare of jealousy as an SOS message from my soul. And then go “rescue” it.
