One of the nuances of my juggling analogy that I didn’t really explain is the cyclical nature of it. We tend to juggle the same items over and over. We re-learn the same lessons.

Or at least I do.

“Think before you speak.” “Don’t judge.” “Have patience.” “Exercise discipline.” Every time I think I’ve got one of those under control, I realize one of the others has slipped.

That can be frustrating at times. Won’t I ever break my bad habits? Won’t these good qualities ever become second nature? But I think that’s just how life goes. We are constant works-in-progress. Like manuscripts, there is always something that could be better.

Related, here’s a quote I recently read and really liked:

“For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin — real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. “

– Alfred D’Souza (taken from “Life Is Not Like a Novel, Except When It Is”)


7 responses to “Further introspection on juggling and life”

  1. Emy Shin Avatar

    This is so very true. Even when you have one habit under control, you still need to maintain that control. But the good thing is that it hopefully won’t be as difficult as before.

  2. Sonje Avatar

    The lessons that you mentioned are rather difficult ones to learn! Mastering them might not be possible. I think the most we can hope for is that the time between re-learning gets longer and longer.

  3. T. S. Bazelli Avatar

    I know what you mean. There are some days when I feel like I’ve finally ‘got it’ but then the ball slips, and it’s frustrating to see that it keeps eluding me. I’m still learning how to do this better, but I suspect I always will!

    Great quote too.

  4. Julia Avatar

    Someone famous once said, “life isn’t one damn thing after another, it’s the same damn thing over and over again.”

  5. Meghan Ward Avatar

    So true (D’Souza’s quote). For me the juggling is more about time and trying to squeeze more things into it than is possible. I’m always slipping on one goal or another. It’s exhausting.

  6. Kristan Avatar

    Sonje-
    “I think the most we can hope for is that the time between re-learning gets longer and longer.” – That might be true, and I would be happy with that too!

    Julia-
    LOL.

  7. Jon Avatar

    Haha, great quote! That reminds me of a quote by Allen Saunders I have over my computer desk, “Life is what happens while we are making other plans” and it’s true!