“My friends are my estate.”
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), poet
Though she has a reputation for being a bit of a recluse, the poet Emily Dickinson was a prolific letter writer and valued her friends perhaps above all else, including her most trusted dog, Carlo, who provided her companionship for 16 years. Seldom journeying beyond the confines of Amherst, Massachusetts, Dickinson seemed to have found nearly everything she needed in a small patch of ground and a deep connection to her closest friends. While her life wasn’t easy, her estate was truly her connection to those who mattered most to her in her life.
I hope that your Labor Day was full of friends. If you found yourself working in some way during the holiday, I hope it didn’t dominate your free time. It can be a sad thing to miss the smell of a grill on Labor Day!
Don’t underestimate the value of time off to your business. Too many of us become addicted to the feeling of “being productive” without recognizing signs of burn-out, family neglect, and faltering friendships. Not only do you need time to recharge, but holidays provide a “no excuses” time to center on that estate of friends Dickinson so rightly valued.
Of course, Dickinson was productive, too. After her death in 1886, her younger sister Lavinia discovered the hidden stash of poems that went unpublished during her life. In it were over 1,800 poems, a body of work which marks her as one of America’s major poets.
All this to say: Remember to find balance in life. We’re on the home stretch of 2012. Work hard, but don’t forget to maintain your estate.
