Oops..I did it again!
No, not the Brittany thing...the Lisa thing. 

There I was, once again, experiencing that familiar angst, that familiar feeling of slowly being suffocated, tied down, losing control - losing myself.  What had I done THIS time? 
Well, I did what I'm most famous for - I found myself passionately thrown into a project - my book to be exact...but that's not the 'oops' part.  The oops for me is when I let that passion overtake me, rule me - but worse - rule my life.  

One thing I've learned about my hippie self is this: Once anything (no matter how much I love it to begin with) becomes a 'have to' in my mind, it slowly becomes a MUST do to me - which translates into 'WORK'.  And hippies don't like that. We don't like pressure and we certainly don't like being told that we HAVE to do something - even if it is ourselves doing the telling!  

Writing a book is hard enough, writing a memoir is damn near exhausting, but as all authors know that is only the beginning of the hamster-wheel, as the promo is what gets ya!  It's tedious, tiresome, and never-ending...yet it's also rewarding, gratifying and self-fullfilling too! But more than anything it is very time-consuming...I know because somehow I lost an entire summer this year.  While I had my head in a computer all day and night, literally, my world - my life - my husband - my loves - were all passing me by, as I opted out for awhile to find my niche in the literary world, putting tremendous pressure on myself.  For what?  And at what cost?  To sell books?  To let my story be heard?  Well yes, that's the gist of it, of course.  I put two years and countless hours into that memoir - how could I not take it as far as I possibly could, giving it the exposure and life it deserved?  And that's exactly what I was doing...day in and day out...until I became very aware of the' hamster-wheel'.  I was on a fast track alright, but to where?  I was getting exposure, getting my name out there -signing up for anything and everything - but again, for what?  And more importantly, at what cost?
That's when I suddenly realized THIS may never end...THIS will rule me, rule my world -possibly forever - IF I let it.  
I had to take a stand.  I sadly realized my passion was actually interfering with living, it was simply overtaking me.  So in a very classic, standard 'Lisa' move, I woke up one day and said ENOUGH.  Changes had to be made, which meant some sacrifices - and the chopping block came out! 
I promptly quit triberr (on twitter) and my daily blogs, even though I enjoyed it thoroughly, as blogging provides a great therapeutic release, but it also took up a major part of my day.  I also cut back on my twitter and facebook promo time in an effort to live in the real world for awhile.  While the virtual world is awesome, so is my real world - and I was neglecting it, big time. 
You know, I mindfully had a yin-yang tattooed on the inside of my left wrist this summer.  I put it there mainly so I could see it when I needed to - a reminder of sorts - as I am a repeat offender in the balancing aspects of life.  I admit it, I have trouble NOT going overboard when I get excited about something, but to me that's called passion, and without it I would surely die on the inside.  So I'm gonna give this new 'balancing act' a whirl and see how it works out.  I'm not throwing in the towel, so to speak, I'm just cranking it back a notch. 
I guess what I'm trying to say is this - 
Sometimes people like me have to dive in head first, as that's the only way we know...but we always resurface (eventually) for the things, and the people, we love - as I know in the end that is all that truly matters.  I will not be on my death-bed counting the books I have sold, or other successes I have accomplished - no, I will be counting how many wonderful people I have come in contact with over my lifetime, and hopefully, how I touched them in some way, as we all want the same thing in the end - not to be forgotten. 

So in this fast-paced virtual world we live in now, remember to unplug once in awhile and notice the beauty that surrounds you in real time - your family, friends, and your environment.  They were here long before the internet, and I'm guessing will be there long after...if you let them.        

And don't worry, you'll still see me around the virtual world, I'll never go away or stop plugging the things I am passionate about...I'll just remember to look at my yin-yang more often: Balance, Lisa, Balance!

Now, take a break and go outside, or talk to someone face to face...truly enjoy your day today, we never know when the last one is upon us, do we?   

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!