What Am I Doing with My One, Wild and Precious Life

A part of a line from Mary Oliver's poem, A Summer Day, popped into my head. She asks the reader at the end of the poem what the reader is doing with the reader's one precious and wild life. It started me thinking.

I spend a lot of time on should's. I should be spending more time out of doors. I should be dancing. I should be writing more. I try to turn the shoulds into it would be goods. Saying I should and then not doing the should can make me feel as if I've failed because I'm not living up to some ideal in my head. 

So, what am I doing with my one wild and precious life? I am doing the work I love to do. I am living in the place I want to live. I laugh with friends and family. I keep reading, listening and learning.

I don't have to fit in everyday tasks around a full time job. This allows me to break up tasks so that they don't take up a whole day. I can then decide to go for a walk, do some work or knit. 

This might not be anyone else's idea of a wild and precious life, but it works for me.

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The first photograph is by Noah Silliman. The second is by Liana Mikah. I found both on unsplash.com. Please click here if you would like to know more about me, my services and my book, Opening the Heart: Meditations on How to Be.