Will I always feel a pang of guilt about loving time alone to work and write? Is it possible the best gift I can offer the world lies outside my role as a mother?
Baby-sitters allowed me to preserve my sanity, to the extent that I have it. I always had at least three hours in the morning to write. I couldn’t have given up writing. I think I could have enjoyed a marriage without children, though I’m very glad I had them; they’ve enriched my life enormously. But I don’t think I could have had a satisfying life without writing. Thankfully I didn’t have to make the choice. — Norma Klein, author of 30 novels, from Women Who Write by Lucinda Irwin
Above is the writing fortune cookie I chose randomly out of a bag on the last night of an inspirational writing class. I had the option to put it back and choose another, but I didn’t. I found it perfectly poignant. I shared the fortune with a couple of people. After each of them read the quote, I felt a strong urge to throw in the disclaimer, Not that I want to wish away my own kids. For the line that sticks out to me, I think I could have enjoyed a marriage without children, seems to require a qualifier, some proof that I have my priorities straight. Even Norma Klein can’t leave it alone. She adds, though I’m very glad I had them; they’ve enriched my life enormously.
What if your passion and your family are two different things? Is it selfish or essential to find personal fulfillment outside of family life?
Mommy vs. career woman
My husband read my fortune and honed in on the words, my sanity, to the extent that I have it. He knows I need hours of introspection to stave away the rubber room. He does his best to help me get them, but…life would be much easier if I just focused on being present for the children and him (the gig I agreed to when we married in 1996).
To be honest, I happily gave up my career woman title for a turn in the mommy seat. My generation, following closely on the heels of the feminist movement, was told we can and should compete to the best of our ability. Do well in school and use your brain to achieve high ranking positions that earn lots of money. You have choices. Choose to be powerful. I tried and hated the business world. I couldn’t wait to ditch that scene.
As an introvert, I thought it would be glorious to hideout in motherhood; no more deadlines, aggressive co-workers, forced teamwork, and false enthusiasm. In other words, no extroverting beyond my comfort zone. I found joy and happiness in the early years of my kids’ lives. Babyhood and toddler days were sweet and magical. I could love and nurture in my quiet introspective way, then enjoy downtime while the kiddos napped. My babies grew into children with minds of their own and vocabularies to express them. Again I was faced with deadlines (homework, school projects), aggression (sibling rivalry, opposition to food selection, bedtimes, hair brushing), teamwork (everywhere we go we’re five people, pain in the ass at restaurants where most tables are for four) and the understood rule to remain enthusiastic and pleasant even when I was at the end of my rope. I loved my children and their spirits but I was dying on the vine.
Then I found writing.
Writing: A solitary passion
Writing led me to a haven of introverts and a world of inner-well being. Writers became my heroes and companions. They understood my desire for solitude. It was not selfish to spend hours reading, writing and pondering. I felt introspective rather than self-centered. I did notice one thing. The majority of my writing compadres were single. Hmmm.
Stephen King, prolific horror writer, is not single, but in his style book/memoir On Writing, he claims his self-reliant wife as one of his secrets to success. She takes care of things while he holes up in a quiet space spinning stories into and out of nightmares. His wife is a saint, but is Stephen King selfish?
I remember my urge to leap to Elizabeth Gilbert’s defense when a female relative labeled her selfish based on her epic memoir Eat Pray Love. In the memoir Elizabeth chooses to divorce her husband and forego children in order to embark on a journey of spiritual seeking. She travels, eats, meditates, and searches for the meaning of true love, on her own. True she makes friends along the way and ultimately finds a boyfriend, but not until she has had a year to herself. Out of that solo sojourn came a bestselling book that resonated with thousands if not millions.
Can you have it all?
I see others struggle with the freedom or family choice. A writing classmate, a young woman in her early twenties, questions the plausibility of living the artist’s life and having a family. It seems darn difficult to do both. She wants the autonomy to travel around the world, draw, write and reflect but also craves the experience of love and belongingness. She is not alone. According to a 2009 survey in Elle Magazine of 2000 women turning thirty, these young women are horizontally ambitious. Looking for excellence in all areas, with an emphasis on being happy. In Why I Envy Generation Me Who Choose Love over Career and Children Above Status, 40-year-old Lorraine Candy, editor of Elle Magazine, tells tales of her corporate climb (spending her honeymoon on the phone, hiding her pregnancy until she couldn’t). She is openly jealous of the generation that follows hers. They don’t have to claw their way to the top or be 1950s stay-at-home moms. They are selfish – but in a good way. It seems there is more living and less striving. I can see the beauty in this setup – joyful living with less stress. Letting love lead instead of society’s expectations. Still there is a compulsion to do it all (excellence in all areas). Is a balance possible?
Stay single, fewer choices
More people are opting out of the family category altogether. The latest figures point to a trend in single living. According to Psychology Today’s article, Americans Just Want to Be Single?, in 1970, 40.3% of households included mom, dad, and the kids, and only 17.1% were 1-person households. In 2009, as has been true since at least 2000, there are more 1-person households (27.5%) than married-with-children households (20.6%). Why the increase in solitary households? Economy? Choosing to marry later? Or maybe the single life is just plain satisfying.
Two ways to change the world
I know many people find complete fulfillment in raising a family. Nurturing, child rearing and marriage tick all their passion boxes. That is a beautiful thing and certainly easily digested by the majority. I agree raising children well can improve the world. But is there courage in rendezvousing with something that makes you feel alive outside of family? I’m not talking about adultery, sky diving or gambling. I’m talking about something that gives you a purpose beyond family commitments. Is it not possible that what you choose could be the very thing that helps the world evolve? Ultimately, making the earth a better place for children to inherit. I imagine doctors, scientists, artists, musicians, athletes and other professions that require a high degree of concentration and involvement, wrestle with this conflict constantly.
Passion and work lead to compassion
Words of the late Brenda Ueland, author of If You Want to Write and mother of one, sum it up for me:
…if you are always doing something for others, like a servant or a nurse, and never anything for yourself, you cannot do others any good. You make them physically more comfortable. But you cannot affect them spiritually in any way at all. For to teach , encourage, cheer up, console, amuse, stimulate, or advise a husband or children or friends, you have to be something yourself. And how to be something yourself? Only by working hard and with gumption at something you love and care for and think is important.
A therapist friend gave me the term self-ful to use in place of selfish. I believe it is self-ful to delve deeply into areas that you deem important. I’ll still hesitate when it comes to closing the door on the study and shutting out my family. It seems to be an ingrained guilt, but being self-ful leads to more living and less striving. Writing fills me up, has flexible hours, helps others and sets an example of independence for my children. Practicality requires that my children’s needs come first, but I take passions (everyone’s )seriously. I am not advocating neglect of families. I am advocating for personal fulfillment in order to positively and spiritually affect those around you. And if your sanity is preserved because of it, well, all the better.
Does family always come first in your life? Have you personally benefitted from endeavors outside of family? What if we all did what we loved (provided it’s not illegal;) within or without our families?
Interested in other posts and articles about the passion and family debate? Check these out:
Confessions of an Introverted Parent (space2live)
Touring Without Guild (space2live)
Are Introverts Givers or Takers?: Does Managing Our Energy Limit Our Generosity? (space2live)
Being Passionate About What You Do: Requirement for Success or Complete Falsehood? (sitepoint)
Introvert Networking: Surviving and Shining While Self-Promoting (space2live)
Space2live has a Facebook fanpage! Stop by, click Like, and have access to daily updates about becoming your highest self as a parent, partner or introvert.
If you enjoyed this post, it would be lovely to have you as a space2live.net regular reader. Please click on EMAIL UPDATES (right hand side of the home page.:)
[…] Is It Selfish to Choose Passion and Work Over Family? […]
I think this is a struggle for all mothers and especially true for introverts with the needing for alone time. It is interesting that one of the advantages of now being on my own is that I am FINALLY being able to follow my introvert passions without guilt.
About the writing – there are many successful writers who finally made it in their sixties and maybe that was not because it took them that long to get the writing right, but rather because that was the first time they really had the time to do it!
I know many moms dream of alone time – introverts and extroverts. I do think it is especially crucial for introverts to have time to recharge. We wilt faster immersed in constant stimulation.
I am so happy you are seeing a silver lining to being on your own. No guilt is so liberating. May you soar high friend.:)
I hope to not have to wait until I am in my sixties to experience writing success. I already feel like I am behind, starting over in my 40s. 😉
Thanks Elizabeth. Always good to hear from you.
[…] http://space2live.net/2013/07/26/is-it-selfish-to-choose-passion-and-work-over-family-2/ […]
I think the best thing you can do for yourself, and for your children, is to make “Me Time”. You re-energized at that time, become yourself, therefore you become a better mom.
Your sense of self is important, and you’re setting the example to your children that discovering who they are as people and being themselves is important. When they grow up, they won’t have to try and figure out who they are, they will already know. They will, hopefully, never allow another person to take that away from them.
You’re always there for important things, things that are important to them. It’s not being a bad parent, or a bad mom to want or need “Me Time”. It’s not selfish.
When we were kids, my mom worked full-time, kept the house clean, did the shopping, the laundry, you name it. Her time was full, but she always, ALWAYS, made time for “Me Time”. She’s an early riser. It was these early morning hours, before anyone was up, that she used for her “Me Time”. She still does that even though all us kids are grown up and moved out.
Most authors I know are married and have children, they carve out time for themselves to write because that’s important.
You’re a great mom. “Me Time” is important to keeping the great mom, great.
On a lighter note: I think a girl cave or woman cave would be great although the term “cave” should be changed. I mean, cave sounds so dark and dank and smelly. Perfect for men since they tend to be smelly (Just kidding!!!!!! Please don’t send me hate mail 🙂 ). How about if we ladies have a Penthouse instead of cave? A Penthouse Retreat. Sounds so relaxing, doesn’t it?
Thank you for all the mom/me time validation. I hope I can influence my children to honor their core selves and not give away parts of themselves to fit into a relationship or societal expectations. I want them to be conscious of their feelings and desires.
I, too, have found early morning to be the perfect time to gather my thoughts in peace. I get a lot done when the house is still quiet.
I’m all for the penthouse idea! Thanks for your thoughtful comment. I appreciate your perspective writer sister.:)
I think that you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned Stephen King and his self reliant wife.
This is primarily a female problem.
Men expect to be supported by their wives/girlfriends and don’t tend to feel guilty about it.
I always get annoyed when I read relationship books and they talk about men’s need for space, their den, their cave.
But a women’s need for the same is rarely acknowledged. This is because to do so would be perceived as being threatening to the stability of the family. Women’s need for me time is often derided.
I don’t have figures for this, but my hunch is that introverted women (especially sensitive, artistic ones) are less likely to marry – their own choice – or have children. I fall into this category.
I admire you for having children and achieving your creative goals. The guilt thing is a hard one to erase but it is socially constructed. Releasing the guilt and internal conflict isn’t easy, especially for such a loving and conscientious woman like yourself.
Have you heard of or tried energy therapy or emotional freedom technique. The latter is a fantastic tool for dealing with internal conflicts, amongst other things.
Because feeling guilty doesn’t serve you or your family: it’s a real drain on your energy.
I love your comment. I’ve been off the grid for a few days. Sorry for the late response.
Just the other day I wrote “Man cave. She cave?” at the top of my notebook. Why isn’t it acceptable for a woman to have a retreat room? I think you got it right when you said it is perceived threat to familial stability. I will google emotional freedom technique. Sounds fascinating. I have done reiki and therapeutic coaching. Had great reactions to both – calmness.
Thank you so much for such an insightful and thoughtful comment. You made me think.