It has happened: the school year has begun. I made myself a promise this year that I would try to protect myself from excessive nostalgia as we transition to this new season and rhythm. The drums of responsibility, of these very busy lives we have built for ourselves. Of these images we have constructed, of expectation of who we think we should be. It takes a lot of energy not to get overwhelmed. The French express this concept so when they say “Metro, boulot, dodo”, which literally translates to “Subway, work, sleep”. In many ways this state has become our normal condition, living to work and working to live. I’m talking about the pressure to achieve to prove our worth, never stopping, rather than of when we feel that passion that makes work not feel like an “obligation”. I choose whichever part of freedom there is still left, as a member of this society, today. I am trying an experiment, by putting the entire me at the centre of all, rather than the “me” as the mother, or professional, or any other individual facet and trying to enact those expectations. Of course these fundamental parts are included in this wider “me” I’m referring to. The separation and the rush are perception. Even the Co-Star app said it; “Much of your anxiety is built on idealism and optimism.” This means I intentionally choose to do 3 main things: - Put that “achievement pressure” to the side, - Really look at myself and my sense of self worth and what it is based on, and - Design a rhythm that works for me, and not for what culture depicts as “success”. A rhythm, a sound that is softer, less busy, and yet more focused and effective. Effective on what ultimately matters: being present and conscious, in this moment, with the awareness that behind our ideas, visions, goals and again... perception, the reality is life is very much also the complication and the challenge. When we can authentically show up with ourselves and consequently with others, then I believe we can become the parents, the partners, the friends, the beings we want to be.