Yesterday when I got home from work I was tired and a bit moody – and this resulted in some unwanted developments in the domestic realm. Hence – in this blog I want to break down for myself who I want to be when I get home, and what I can do to support myself while at work and when I get home to remain stable. Because one thing I find to be clear, how I react and experience myself when I get home, usually have nothing to do with what happens at home – rather it has to do with energies and experiences that I have went through at work that I have yet to sort out effectively.
So, what can I do when I get home to support myself to remain stable and to act in common sense, especially when it comes to assisting and supporting my spouse in household chores? One thing that I am able to see, is that my physical experience many times has a thin veneer of tiredness, meaning that, on the surface, I experience myself as tired, and as wanting to rest, while on a deeper level in my body, I still feel very much refreshed and ready to move myself when I get home. And – lest not forget – it is important for me to step in and assist and support with household chores even though I have been at work – because when a baby comes into the picture – many things changes – and both partners will have to step up their acts in order to continue to have a functional household.
With this I want to say that there is a POTENTIAL for me to break through that surfaced tiredness and access the physical energy still here and latent in my body – and that it is within my responsibilities as a husband and father to make that push when I got home – so that I can contribute in the household and interact with my daughter in a supportive way. Obviously – even though I feel tired from a day at work – it is when I get home to my family that I do have the opportunity to develop, deepen and strengthen the most intimate and close relationships that I have in my life – and if I accept and allow myself to feel tired/used/exhausted – I will miss those opportunities.
So – what can I do to push through my tiredness? The one simple action that I see I must take is to MOVE myself – because usually when I MOVE myself – I will be able to bring myself through that veneer of tiredness and back into my physical body – where there is still a lot of energy left to be used. Hence – this experience of tiredness is rather more of a habit than an actual physical condition. Thus taking action and moving myself – participating in taking care of the household and my kid – that is a solution – a way that I am able to push myself to walk through this limitation that I have created for myself.
Then – another important – what I can do when I am at work, and when I am working to assist and support myself to remain stable, and to be physically rested and stable when I get home. Here – what I have noticed is that when I move SLOW at work – when I take time for breaks – going out for a walk – talking with some colleagues – eating a couple of sandwiches when I get hungry in the afternoon – then I will function much better – and with this approach I am able to preserve my energy/stability throughout the day. And it is similar to fast and slow carbohydrates – with fast carbohydrates all energy is expended speedily and intensely resulting in a hasty expenditure – while slow carbohydrates nourishes the body with a steady and slow stream of energy that can be utilized for a longer period of time. While working, if I work intensely, focused and speedily for many hours in a row, without a break, without listening to my body, I will expend myself faster. Hence – to support and prepare myself to get home in the evening – I will SLOW down at work and practice listening to and caring for my physical body throughout my day.
Lastly – who do I want to be when I get home from work? Who do I want to be, what is the example that I want to live in front of my child? I want to live STABILITY and COMMON SENSE – and stand within and as the insight/understanding that physical energy is not something that disappears only because I go to work – and that it is about WHO I AM within what I do – not necessarily about WHAT I DO that makes all the difference. Thus – while at home – I want to contribute to the household chores, assist and support my daughter and develop my relationship with her through active participation – and thus – not accept and allow any surfaced tiredness to throw me off balance and into a state of 'trying to recover' for the bigger part of my evening when I get home from work.
Hence – the word that I see I can live to support myself when I get home from work is MOVE. It does not have to be more complicated than that.