Gift from the Sea

Interesting that a book written by Annie Morrow Lindbergh in 1955 still holds true today.  She writes in "Gift from the Sea":

For to be a woman is to have interests and duties, raying out in all directions from the central mothercore, like spokes from the hub of a wheel.  The pattern of our lives is essentially circular.  We must be open to all points of the compass; husband, children, friends, home, community; stretched out, exposed, sensitive like a spider's web to each breeze that blows, to each call that comes.  How difficult for us, then, to achieve a balance in the midst of these contradictory tensions, and yet how necessary for the proper functioning of our lives.  ...How desirable and how distant is the ideal of the contemplative, artist or saint-the inner inviolable core, the single eye.
What are your points on the compass? Do you need to change your direction?
(self-advertising for a moment - I will be offering a set of guidebooks by summer about mapping out your journey including Inner Compass, Crossroads and Treasure Chest)
* many thanks to graphics fairy for the image - http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/
**did I mention that each comment counts for the book giveaway drawing? :)