The Chickens Taught Me Something

I spent 45 minutes with my chickens last night.

Not rushing. Not checking my phone. Just cleaning their coops, collecting eggs, watching them peck around the yard and play with each other.

And I noticed something: I was actually present.

Not thinking about my to-do list. Not planning my next meeting. Just... there.

That's rare for me. My brain is usually three steps ahead - what's next, what needs to be done, what am I forgetting.

But with the chickens? I slow down. I notice things. I breathe.

It made me think about how I used to live.

When I worked corporate, my whole life was compartmentalized. Work happened in one box. Life happened in another. And I was always racing between them, never fully present in either.

I'd be at Emily's softball game thinking about Monday's deadline. I'd be at work thinking about what I forgot to do at home.

I was everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

Now? My life doesn't feel compartmentalized anymore.

Work happens. Life happens. They flow together.

I can spend 45 minutes with chickens on a Tuesday morning because I decide when work starts. I can quilt on Saturday night because I'm not exhausted from a week of someone else's schedule.

I'm actually IN my life instead of racing through it.

That's what building my VA business gave me. Not just income. Not just working from home.

The ability to be present. To move slower when I want to. To stop compartmentalizing and start living.

So here's my question for you: Are you present in your own life?

Or are you always thinking about the next thing, the next obligation, the next box you have to check?

Because here's what I've learned: You can't slow down when someone else controls your time. You can't be present when you're always rushing to meet someone else's deadlines.

But when you build a business on your terms? You get to choose how you spend your days.

You get to decide what deserves your presence.

What would that feel like?