Living a Balanced Life

Shamash Says has a wonderful personal reflection on life balance this week. It's a record of her journey through work and life and she appears to be approaching the crossroads:

"Maybe it’s time for me to switch careers: pursue my Ph.D. and teach at the university level or go to art school.

Maybe it’s time to take a year off and finish my novel.

Maybe it’s time to find a job that’s a better match with my values of living a balanced life."

In an earlier post, she used 43 Things as the inspiration for a writing assignment she gave to her students. The richness and variety of the results had her feeling hopeful and refreshed:

"Because, with a list like this, you have to think: If these kids are in charge of the world, it might not end up being such a bad place, afterall."

Even her own reflective post has the feel of a 43 Things list -- big-picture to-dos full of learning, creativity and engagement. There's something powerful about this kind of reflection. Shamash also kindly linked over here and included a pointer to Careerdaze, which had a great post on Values and Career Choices:

"I have found through the years that when someone is unhappy in their job, most of the time it is because there is a value that is not being met."