In the last 5 years, I have let several big things define my life: getting married, completing my masters, being pregnant, and having my son. Now that the attention that those “big” things brought has worn off, I have felt as if my life was missing something, like I should be doing more, like it’s time to chase the next big thing.

As I contemplated what my next big thing could be I found myself questioning if something new and “big” is really what I needed in my life right now. After weighing different options I had no real clarity or peace about pursuing something that would consume more of my already limited time or drastically change our financial situation. As I processed through all of these thoughts, I was also reading She’s Still There: Rescuing the Girl Inside You by Chrystal Evans Hurst.

One thing from the book that continues to resonate with me is the idea of embracing your life by doing what you can with what you have. Chrystal says, “we’re tempted to wait until just the right moment to do the right thing or a ‘big’ thing. And while we wait, we do ‘no thing'”.

Reading this helped to solidify what I was feeling in the depths of my heart. As I contemplated the next “big” thing I was doing nothing, excepting neglecting to realize all the opportunities that have been right in front of me. Now, instead of feeling the need to run after the next “big” thing, I feel a nudging to simply be still, to be content, and to embrace my life as it is.

When I think about what my life looks like right now, I realize that I don’t have to chase the next big thing. Perhaps the next “big” thing for me is pursing the seemingly “small” things, putting more effort into becoming the best version of myself, embracing my life as it is.