A slightly different morning at home. Today, there will be no swim, because a parent-teacher meeting on Teams awaits. The missed swim instead gave way to a long, warm shower — not at all the same as walking down to the lake, but still lovely. Perhaps that’s what it’s all about — finding structure and balance in everyday life, even when the day doesn’t turn out as planned.

Read this post in Swedish → Struktur och balans i vardagen – en morgonreflektion

Morning Without the Lake – But Not Without Stillness

A warm cup of coffee on a quiet morning – a moment of structure and balance in everyday life.

My coffee stands beside me as my thoughts wander between schoolwork and household tasks. Right now, a bit of anxiety lives in my body — piles of papers waiting to be read and reflected on. I know I need to find structure; however, I don’t want it to become like last time. Back then, I studied around the clock and felt anxious whenever I wasn’t studying.

This time, I want balance. I’ll ask AI to help me create a structure for my studies and everything else that needs doing. What did we actually do before AI? How did we manage to fit the puzzle pieces of life together?

Studies, Solitude and a New Kind of Companion in the Search for Structure and Balance in Everyday Life

After the meeting, I’ll return to my reading. The subject interests me, and when it does, words flow more easily. My ADHD helps here — when curiosity takes over, focus follows. But I miss classmates — someone to discuss and practice with. For now, AI has become my conversation partner. It works, but it’s not the same as having another person to share ideas with.

It’s quieter this way. Still, in the quiet, there’s also space to listen inward.

I recently wrote about Living with Positive Psychology.

The Little One, the Room and Everyday Rhythm

Yesterday, my little one wanted to rearrange his room. It happens fast when he does it — furniture moves, but not much else. When I rearrange, I want to clean behind, underneath, and around everything. The small clutter probably slept with him last night. He can sleep with anything — Lego pieces, chips, you name it. Everything except spiders and wasps.

It’s in those small moments that everyday life truly lives. That’s where warmth hides — right in the middle of all the stress.

Thoughts of Hugo and the Ache of Longing

Yesterday, I saw on Instagram that little Hugo, my grandson, was sick.
It feels strange to only learn what happens in my grandchildren’s lives through social media. We live just a mile apart, yet contact travels through a screen. He’s grown so much now. I imagine his words are clear, that you can understand everything he says.

Those thoughts hurt, but I try to turn them around: it’s good that he gets to rest while he’s ill.
My little one. I would have liked to bring ice cream and a comic — the kind of things you bring to someone who’s sick. But some wishes have to remain just that — wishes.

A New Day, a New Choice

Today is the first day of the rest of my life, and therefore a reminder that change starts now.
A good day is something you create yourself, regardless of what happens.
Because what truly matters is not what happens — but how we choose to respond to it.

AHA – Between the Lines of Structure and Balance in Everyday Life

Between the lines, this text is about daring to find balance when life tilts.
It’s about living with ADHD and learning to manage what might otherwise take over.
It’s also about longing — for closeness with my son and grandchildren, but also for the presence of a study partner to share ideas with. And about the ability to shift perspective, to find gratitude in the middle of absence.
It’s a story of self-awareness, acceptance and small victories in everyday life.

Reflection – Finding Structure and Balance in Everyday Life

Maybe that’s how life teaches us: sometimes we have to give something up to rediscover ourselves.
Today I choose to skip the swim but instead create stillness.
It’s in those small choices — between the shower, the coffee, and the thoughts — that life truly happens.

What I’m Grateful for Today

This morning, I began by thanking life for letting me wake up to a new day, even without the swim.
I’m grateful for the chance to breathe in this morning, for the warm water running from the tap, and for the joy of a long shower. Not everyone appreciates that simple pleasure — but I do.
I’m also grateful that I dared to begin this education, even though it awakens both performance and anxiety.
Even my anxiety gets a thank-you today — it reminds me that I’m human, alive, and still learning.
And I’m grateful that Instagram exists — because without it, I wouldn’t even have seen a picture of little Hugo or known that he was sick. It hurts, but it also heals — because through the screen, I still get to see him, to know he’s there, in the middle of life.

Questions for You, Dear Reader

How do you find structure and balance in everyday life?
When life feels heavy, what helps you return to calm?
Can you relate to the wish to be enough — and the need to rest?

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. I read every one of them.

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malix.se/ Carina Ikonen Nilsson

Live today. Dare to feel life, and let life teach you.
Yesterday rests behind us, having taught us what it could.
Tomorrow is not yet a memory, nor something we know.
Right now — this is where we can live and breathe.
– Carina Ikonen Nilsson