Flow: Month Six

Ah, June.I have to say, this entire year has felt like a whirlwind - at times I feel like I'm cruising along, other times I feel like I'm drowning. Up & down. It's only in the past few days I'm surfacing again.June saw me travel for work (again), family visiting (again), work drama (again), and not feeling so hot (again). But there was good too - I hired a life coach, climbed outdoors in gorgeous New Hampshire, renewed my Year of Ocean commitment, napped in the late afternoons, killed it at my annual review, spent quality time with friends and had a week with family in Newport Beach.So much life is coming at me head on and I don't have a reference point to deal with it all. And even though it's all good things, it's a lot.I need a break.I'm realizing that flow, like anything else, is actually a negative thing if taken too far.I am moving at the whim of everything and there is no time to catch my breath. It's like I'm a boat taking on water, and what I really need to be asking myself is "Do I have to carry this right now?" Because I take on a lot. Probably too much.This, of course, is the on-going struggle I have. To prioritize my own life over that of everyone else in it. To say "No".While I have the perspective to know that everything is not a crisis, I still feel responsible for it all.What I'm thinking is that I could use some structure for my flow. Some perspective. Some scheduling and processes. Nothing crazy, since I already know that creating structure and abiding by it are two different skill sets, but I've got to figure out something.Life is steam-rolling me and going with the flow is gonna get me sucked out to sea.It occurred to me this morning that there is a level of fear and hard work that I'm not willing to face. That doing everyone else's bidding is exhausting, but I receive immediate positive feedback from it, so it feels like a win. Doing my own thing could result in too many variables: things not working, getting in trouble by someone else, having to say no / disappoint people, not reaching the goal.But I'm seeing that to live a deeply nourishing existence, I need to not just carve out my own time, but to structure my time around me. There is a difference.I feel like I'm sinking, when I want to be swimming. Diving deep. That requires energy and focus. And so that is where my heart is after 6 months of flow. Here's to another 6 more.You can see all of my OLW ~flow~ posts here.