Simplification Choices

Life beat me up and spit me out this week, and it all got so confusing that I'm really not sure what happened! At one point, I thought I could start to manage the insanity by sending out a Dear John letter of explanation to many of my friends, explaining that... . Well, I thought I was explaining that I needed a time out! In my mind's fantasy, I would push the send button and all of my stress would be alleviated. I didn't work! Instead, everyone wrote back that they could completely relate and the topic turned into a wonderful e-mail conversation starter!

These conversations led to an interesting concept: at what moment does one choose what is insignificant? For instance, lets say I want to simplify my life. What tasks or obligations do I eliminate?

Here is an example from this week's overlapping schedule. I planned to attend (by bike) the planning commission meeting Wednesday evening because of the global warming topic. My room-mate's granddaughters are visiting from Colorado. My son, who lives with his father wanted to come over and visit for the evening. Do I go to the meeting or stay home and be with the teenagers? I chose to stay home, but it wasn't a simple decision. This became a family discussion with my partner and daughter, and valuable arguments were provided for both choices. I chose to stay home. I made that choice because of lingering emotional responces from earlier in the day. The point is, the value we place on obligations can change--hourly! My darling, sweet dughter likes to remind me about prioritization. I like to remind her that, in the end, it is all small stuff and that the definition of small is arbitary.