Life is full. Goodness, is it ever full. I was once told to use the word full instead of busy when describing my life. Busy tends to carry the connotation of living without rest, even though sometimes that’s what it feels like. But right now my life is full. Beautifully full. Full of adventure, growth, risk, love and potential. Right now I am choosing to fill my life with what I want to spend my time on. I’m learning how to separate myself from expectations that make me feel busy. I’m learning how to remove the things in my life that plant seeds of stress rather than hope. I’m starting to replace them with aspects of life I refuse to live without. I’m learning to make time for the things that make my life full of fun, instead of busy with “stuff”. I’m still learning the art of this. I’ve started to watch other people on how they organize their life and I’m learning that what people spend their time on is often what they place their value in. Sure, sometimes those values don't make sense to us, but we all have our own life to live.

Take social media for example. A friend of mine just shared with me that they deleted a social media app. One of those major ones. They realized the effect it had on their brain wasn’t worth sacrificing for the expectation our society has placed on us to put our lives on display. She planted another seed in my heart to reconsider where I place my time and value. Her value no longer lives in social media. That time is being replaced with self care. She reminded me once more to fill my life with things that make it full and not busy. We have the power; the choice is in our hands.

I understand there are people who don't have a choice in the matter. Their lives feel almost decided for them. Their lives aren't busy by choice but by command. In those situations, I still carry hope that there is opportunity to find purpose. Let me pose the question I've asked myself many times. Do you think there could be a shift in perspective that fundamentally changes how we perform mandatory mundane requirements from dreadful to joyful? Could we possibly change our "business" to "fullness" just by the attitude of our hearts? I hope so.

Now that I'm thinking about it more, maybe I'm simultaneously choosing what takes up my time while shifting my perspective on tasks I feel remain mandatory. It works for me but it might not work for others. Find what works best for you. What makes your life feel full instead of busy? What makes it enjoyable instead of just survival? Start small. What makes your heart stop to flutter in what feels like a chaotic life? Follow those little moments. Hold onto them when life becomes too much of the busy and not enough of the full. Sometimes life seems unbearable, but do me a favor and keep moving forward. Abiding by a list of "have to's" is no way to live your life. Do what I do (if you want) and start with one sunrise at a time. And maybe one day, your whole world will become a sunrise lit with the richest colors you only hoped to catch a glimpse of.