Don’t Get So Busy Making a Living…

“Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” — Dolly Parton

This past week has brought forth so many emotions for me. There has been grief and a sense of profound loss, but there has also been so much beauty in seeing the love people around the world have shared for Dolly Parton.

My social media feeds have been completely taken over by Dolly—and honestly, I think it is absolutely incredible. If my feed could be filled with Dolly all the time, I might begin to love social media a little more.

I have been walking around my house playing her music, singing her songs at the top of my lungs, and sharing them with my son. It has felt joyful and heartbreaking all at once.

Dolly’s music has always been woven into my life and my family. My grandparents both met her, and my Papa Jim loved “Coat of Many Colors” because it reminded him of his own mother. Country music filled my childhood, and hearing Dolly’s songs again has brought back memories of my grandmother, my Papa, and the way music can carry the people we love forward—even after they are no longer physically here with us.

It has also caused me to think deeply about the kind of life Dolly created.

Yes, she was incredibly successful, but her life never seemed to be only about success. It was about her music, her family, her community, her generosity, her faith, her humor, and the love she gave so freely to the world.

And perhaps that is why this quote from her feels so important right now:

“Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”

It is such a simple sentence, but I believe so many of us need to hear it.

We can become so busy working, caring for our families, running our homes, answering messages, making appointments, and trying to keep up with everything that modern life asks of us. Sometimes we become so focused on making a living—and simply making it through the day—that we forget to look around and notice the life happening right in front of us.

A life is being made in the small moments.

It is made while singing an old song to your child in the kitchen. It is made while sitting beside someone you love, tending a garden, drinking a warm cup of tea, or stepping outside long enough to feel the breeze on your skin.

It is also made when you decide to stop.

When you allow yourself to rest.

When you soften your grip and remember that you do not have to hold everything together all of the time.

This is one of the reasons The Tiny Spa has always meant so much to me. I never wanted it to be a place where you simply came in, received a treatment, and hurried back out into your busy life. I wanted it to feel like a pause from all of that—a quiet place where you could return to yourself and remember what it feels like to simply be human.

When you receive a facial or massage with us, you are not doing nothing. You are caring for the body that carries you through your life. You are creating space to breathe, to feel, to receive, and to reconnect with yourself.

You are making room for your life.

And as we prepare to welcome a new season, this message feels even more meaningful.

Our fall seasonal services begin Tuesday, September 1, and our theme for the season is From Abundance to Surrender.

Summer carries such an energy of abundance. The gardens are overflowing, the days are long, and there always seems to be more to do, see, grow, and gather. But then fall begins to quietly arrive. The light changes. The evenings come sooner. A cool breeze moves through, and nature begins to show us that we cannot remain in a season of constant growth forever.

There must also be a season of surrender.

Our fall seasonal facial and massage have been thoughtfully designed around this transition. Through warm tea, comforting autumn aromas, nourishing seasonal skincare, heated tools, grounding massage, and quiet restorative touch, these services are an invitation to soften and release.

They are a reminder that you do not always need to be producing, achieving, or caring for everyone else. Sometimes you need to be cared for, too.

Dolly created an extraordinary legacy, but I believe it was her ability to remain connected to love, family, music, generosity, and joy that made her life so meaningful to so many people.

May her words remind all of us to pause long enough to notice the life we are creating.

Sing the songs. Love your people. Sit in the garden. Take the trip. Rest your body. Make the appointment. Let someone care for you.

Do not become so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.

Our fall seasonal facial and massage begin Tuesday, September 1. We hope you will join us as we move gently from abundance into surrender.

In love & gratitude,

Jamie

P.S. If you’d like to read my very personal essay on Dolly Parton and how her music shaped my childhood, check it out over on my Substack with The East Experience.