Leave None Behind

Life is a balancing act; there are always more things to do than time to do them. I struggle with this every moment of every day: I want to wake up bright-eyed in the morning, bake fresh bread, exercise, eat a proper breakfast, write this blog, work a fulfilling day as a graphic designer, make a hearty supper, finish projects, do laundry, knit, sew and paint, clean my house, go to the cottage, the museum, the theatre, the library, do my grocery shopping, renovate the house, maintain the garden, go for walks and bike rides, relax and meditate, listen to and make music, make and keep appointments with my hairdresser, my dentist, my doctor, spend time with family and friends, answer emails, send birthday and Christmas cards, play with the cat and get ten hours of sleep per night... sigh... you know what I'm talking about.

How do we decide what is important in any given moment? How do we keep from getting discouraged or from getting buried under the expectations we place on ourselves?

My strategies have become two-fold. I try to follow the principles of putting the big rocks in the container first (if you don't know that story, I'll share that one in another post).

My second strategy, for the last several years now, is based on a board game given to us by a friend. The game is called "Ingenious" and I like it for several reasons:

I sometimes win (which is a pleasant change from many other board games).

I get to play with patterns and fields of colour (as a quilter and designer, this appeals to me).

I like the surprising philosophy it requires to win.

The game requires you to keep all the colours moving forward. You don't win by reaching the end line first with one of your pegs; you win by not leaving any behind.