I have been finding it useful, lately, to resurrect the spinning plate metaphor I used to use for my life. As a freelance web designer, I used to think of my job as one of being a circus performer spinning plates. I would have several customers at once and, moving between their projects, would give each job a spin. I thought of my life for a while that way, too, but let it go at some point.I think it would serve me well to return.
My plates include (in no particular order): family, job, church, book, writing/art, activism, philosophy/theology, getting doctored, life logistics.
Happily, one motion often spins more than one plate.
While I have been away from this blog, I have been spinning like crazy. I wrote an essay for the Presbyterian Church in America's Access Packet. The packet is mailed to churches once a year to encourage them to include people with disabilities in church activities. That project combined church, writing, theology and activism. I did a talk for Andrew Riverside Presbyterian Church that combined writing, theology and getting the word out about the book. I have designed Lenten and Easter liturgical art for my own church.
Yes, okay, part of this is a why-I-haven't-been-blogging confessional. But it's more than that.
It is easy for me to worry over the pieces of my life that aren't getting attention. It helps if I remember that sometimes I can let momentum carry them while I attend to other things.
If I take Woody Allen's "90% of life is showing up" and marry it with the 12 step slogan "the efforts our ours, the results are God's," then my life works. I can spin 90% of the plates 90% of the time, stand back, and let God take care of the rest.
There is a more elegant take on this given by Elizabeth Gilbert in the video posted below.
[I had never heard of her before I watched this video. Impressed, I went to Amazon and looked at her book reviews. Wow! People either loved or hated Eat, Pray, Love." I decided to go with my gut: I liked the woman on video, I thought I might like her writing. It was a good choice. I enjoyed the book. I understand the envy or pain or simple personality differences behind the bad reviews, as I felt some of all of that while reading. But it's a fun and thoughtful journey.]
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