Rachel Macy Stafford

The term ‘work-life balance’ communicates an illusion that we should be able to divide the varied parts of our lives into neat boxes and maintain an even distribution of the time, energy, and focus each requires. But life is not containable; it’s fluid, complex, and unpredictable. That was true before the global pandemic. And now, as the illusive boundaries between work and life have crumbled to non-existence, we are at risk of becoming a population of burned out, busted up humans who feel like the bottom has completely fallen out.

So, what do we do? Rachel Macy Stafford proposes we flatten the box into a piece of cardboard and use it to make a map—a new, healing pathway to navigate this uncharted territory with compassion, presence, and peace… a map with which we can explore pathways that are wide enough for us to travel bravely, as our fully human selves, together.

From surviving to thriving… from competition to community… from unrealistic pressure to inner peace – this is the way.