Letting go…of trying to do everything (and everything well) and the accompanying overwhelm

Just five minutes ago, I was surrounded by suitcases. Large suitcases that we take to India lay in front of me with their large mouths gaping open. “I am going to stuff each one of you,” I thought to myself. With stuff. I sat surrounded by a mountain of stuff. Stuff of all shapes and sizes. Shoes, lotions, clothes (wait did I remove the tag?), chocolates (ahem… many unfortunately now in my tummy).

Gosh! So many more things to get. So many more errands to run. So many more things to pack. I furiously made lists. Wait, wasn’t there a list downstairs already? Gosh, cables and chargers! I thought with alarm. For the iPad, IPod, IPhone, Kindle, Netbook, Camera, Camcorder… Seriously? Did we really need to move all these things from one continent to another and back? Bills! Better make a list of all the bills to pay before leaving. Library books! More alarm. And did I make my doctors’ appointments for after our return? And to imagine all this running through a brain that can barely remember a thing! 

A zillion things raced furiously through my mind. I felt overwhelmed. I got up. I stood tall in the mountain of stuff and tiptoed gingerly trying to not step on anything.

Out of the room. Away from my lists. I came downstairs and sat down to write. Carelessly.  Irresponsibly. For that’s what I do these days.

I figured… try as I may, I will still not remember many things. Try as I may, I will still not have the energy to do many things. But try as I may, I may actually succeed in feeling less tethered and frayed, and just a wee bit more grounded. It seemed worthwhile. So I sat down to write.

I felt bad about feeling so overwhelmed about a trip we were all so excited about. And I decided to not let overwhelm win, or take away any of joy and anticipation of the trip. So I sat down to write.

No surprises then, about today’s topic.

Just when did our lives get so complicated? Just when did we become superheroes? Just when did we take on this mountain of responsibility on ourselves? Just when did we begin to go about life so overwhelmed?  

Generations before us have been doing the same stuff as us – raising kids, keeping jobs, managing the house. Is it our fervor to do everything; and to do everything really well that gets us into trouble? A friend and I chatted recently on how “good enough” was good enough for us. And although it is sad that I have to continuously remind myself of that, I am willing to make it my mantra. Want to try?