Inspiration

I've been spending some time lately thinking about inspiration. You know, the stuff that makes me want to be my best self, stay happy and engaged in life. And I've come up with a little list...

1) My friend Whitney
2) Yoga classes
3) Walking in the sunshine
4) Really great books (lately I'm re-reading Faulkner's As I Lay Dying which is probably my all time favorite novel...)
5) Oprah. It's true! She's amazing.
6) My job. I'm SO LUCKY to have a job that inspires me!!!
7) Nice houses
8) NPR
9) My brother

Anyway, why am I thinking about this lately? I guess I've been evaluating how I spend my time. For instance, how much time am I "wasting" vs. engaging in a pastime that inspires me and helps me grow? Now, if you're reading this you already know I'm all about balance, and I totally think that eating ice cream and watching a chick flick is, sometimes, the absolutely best thing to do. But I'm also aware of my habits and patterns, and how regularly I waste away my evenings surfing the web or watching television, when maybe, just maybe, making another choice might feel more inspiring or invigorating. I've been playing around with making different choices, even small things.

Daytime Peach: Playing frisbee with my brother in San Francisco

For instance, I rarely pick up the phone after 7pm unless it's my fiance or my sister. I think in part this is a treat to myself: my evenings are my own, and I like them mellow and stress-free. Plus, I don't believe that I am "on call" just because I own a telephone. So, I make the choice to let it ring, and I wait to listen to the message until I feel like it. I think, for the most part, this is okay.

But then sometimes I realize that I'm letting my phone ring even when it's one of my best friends calling, and all I'm doing is watching "Everybody Loves Raymond" re-runs. Maybe, just maybe, sometimes talking to one of my girls would be more satisfying than watching a sitcom I've already seen. So, what would it be like to pick up the phone?

Nighttime Peach: PJ's at 7pm, the couch, and the laptop!

I have this weird identity dichotomy where I'm Peach #1 during the day and Peach #2 in the evening. All day long I'm super productive, getting through all my work, exercising, preparing nice meals, cleaning the house, but then after dinner I shift into nighttime Peach, who can't bother putting her clothes away and drifts into chill-out oblivion complete with fro yo and re-runs. And. I. (kind of) Love. It.

But it doesn't inspire me. And sometimes it makes me feel depressed. So I'm playing around with how to keep the inspiration alive even when it's nighttime. My hunch is that I veg out at night because I'm plum tired! I really go go go all day. I am super woman, type A to the max, all about productivity and progress, so I think at night I'm just pooped and I need to relax. I just wonder...is there a way to relax that doesn't feel like a total personality switch? I'm thinking I might have to start a post-dinner bubble bath ritual followed by reading poems in bed or something. Doesn't that sound...like a more inspiring version of junk food and TV?

So my verdict is: Again, it's all about the balance. There's nothing wrong with spending an evening snacking with a movie on, unless it becomes habitual, thereby losing it's calming effect and becoming a sort of depressing habit. And then, well, I've got my bubbles waiting in the bathroom!