Joyfully Exhausted

My husband Larry has been called a sage by my good friend Melanie and I do believe she's right.  While whining about being exhausted the other evening, Larry stopped me in my tracks and asked if I had joy.  I really didn't know how to answer at first, but finally, I said that it was hard to be joyful when so tired.  He replied that one must find joy, even in times of exhaustion.  I reminded myself that this blog is called Time to Be and that it's meant as a reflection of living in the moment with gentleness, gratitude and joy.  Was I practicing what I preach?  Not at that moment.  But, Larry's carefully crafted message to me stuck and I started to look at my exhaustion with a different perspective.  While I don't like being over-tired, I became grateful for being able to do all of the things that I had done to make myself over-tired.  I have encountered much serious illness in my adulthood and there have been times when I have questioned whether I would ever be able to do what I used to do.  Recently, my exhaustion has come from doing perhaps too much of what I like to do.  It's time to simplify my schedule a bit, but I will do so with joy and gratitude, even if I am a little exhausted.