Most women`s lives are teeming with activity-chock full of competing work demands and/or family responsibilites. Often, the energy accorded to attending the needs of others is not extended equally to themselves.
For those minions, ”Meditations for Women Who Do Too Much” (Harper & Row, $8.95), can be a boon in restoring a more self-nourishing focus. A pocket-sized collection of 365 quotations by women, it`s an enriching resource for sparking introspection and inspiration.
”Initially, it was supposed to be a book for woman workaholics,” says author Anne Wilson Schaef, Ph.D., ”but it was expanded to include all those who overdo: rushaholics, busyaholics. A lot of women do too much and don`t pay attention to themselves, and therefore they`re not able to be present to themselves and the people they love.”
Schaef, also the author of several other books, some on women`s issues, has assembled an eclectic array of poignant, profound and sometimes pithy thoughts.
Included:
– ”Life ought to be a struggle of desire toward adventures whose nobility will fertilize the soul.” -Rebecca West.
– ”We grow neither better nor worse as we get old, but more like ourselves.” -Mary Lamberton Becker.
– ”If you want a thing done well, get a couple of old broads to do it.” -Bette Davis.
The quotes are amplified by Schaef`s interpretation and distillation. Because each installment is brief, it`s ideal for quick perusal and pondering during a rail commute, waiting to pick up the kids from swimming class, or dipping into while waiting for the water to boil for morning coffee.
”These meditations do not tell you what to do, they do not tell you how you should be, and they are not answers,” Schaef writes. ”They are intended to stir up some feelings, get you thinking, and precipitate possibilities for change which will add to the quality and vitality of your life.”