Life is a fine balance of holding on and letting go. Sometimes it is just a matter of having grabbed too many grocery bags prior to climbing up 27 stairs to your second story dwelling, but more often than not, it is less tangible.

It involves relationships, causes or commitments. I find myself in such a dilemma. Well, not so much the first one, as I have learned not to imitate a pack mule anymore, rather, it is the abstractions that are becoming distractions and causing a measure of vertigo to set in. In a word, it is over-commitment.

When it comes to community, can’t isn’t part of my vernacular and often times even “no” is missing from my vocabulary. It is a matter of wanting the best for our Village and its residents so much, I can taste it. I have a dear friend who likens me to the energizer bunny but even the fuzzy pink rabbit needs recharging and this is where I found myself last week after having sat in two different meeting venues for four hours straight. It isn’t that neither of them had great people involved, or were for a good purpose. No, both are important and definitely have their place. What I found as the rest of the afternoon blurred as I hurried to try and do tasks for my business that should have been done, like yesterday, was…sometimes we have to stop and regain our equilibrium so we don’t fall completely off the beam with our arms full.

It is balance.

It is having to let go of things simply because they have become too heavy. So, I have been spending time making a priority list. It is scary when you find that you not only are a mom, business owner and grassroots organizer of Cass Can, Inc. with many projects on different burners but you are also, vice chair of the planning commission, vice chair of the Downtown Development Authority, Member of the Main Street Committee and co-heading the Economic Restructuring Group, on the Chamber of Commerce Board, part of the subcommittee for preservation of the vintage court house, pushing to have Stone Lake cleaned up,… then I try to attend Village Council meetings and workshops and lately County Board of Commissioners’ meetings, well, you get the picture, as it is a very familiar one to many reading this. It is over-packing. For it is only when we truly focus on what is most important to us, can we more easily fit in and successfully manage what to pack into our suitcase of a life and our carry-on for each day.

I have certain necessities I won’t leave home without, so to speak. One of them is my son, the others are both very dear soul missions: Cass Can, Inc. and my business, Last Tagine in Paris, LLC whose very core is to help local artisans in America the same way Fair Trade helps those in developing countries. I am unable to do these well if I fall off the beam, if I no longer can zip up my carry on bag. So, there will be some meetings I have to miss. There will be some boards or groups I have to pass on when my commitment is up. There will be letting go… BUT, what I have seen in the past two years are many, many more neighbors and friends in our village who have rearranged the inside of their suitcases to fit in time to attend the meetings, be part of the cause and hold onto some of the things I have to let go. Please take a moment and check your own luggage…can you remove what no longer fits or balances you and can you make room for CommUNITY?

 

CeeCee Wilson is the organizer of Cass Can, Inc. and owner of Last Tagine in Paris, LLC. Find them on Facebook.