My 2022 is starting slow. I am trying to get over a sinus allergy flare up. Haven’t gotten anything done I had hoped the first week.
However, it may be a good thing. It has made me pause before I get off in to some projects that are only half way planned. With the holidays past and the new year launched, I feel the countdown to my July birthday going. I always try to get things done January till July and be able to have an assessment of progress at my birthday.
I spent a lot of time in December and all last week reflecting on things past. Trying to not become morose over the passage of time and the passing of loved ones. I want to be sure I utilize every day to create a life I love living.
I scribble in a journal constantly. Ideas, happenings, goals, lists, memories of yesterday and of many years ago. A life is supposed to be examined. Mine is often over examined. Second guessing everything. I have so many ideas that I generate and talk myself out of pursuing. I always feel I will be wasting resources if something doesn’t work out or I don’t follow through. Rather than take a risk, I reason with myself that it isn’t needful.
That is why I am always so amazed and so proud of our children when they take risks, large and small, to pursue their dreams. I always told them to not let fear get in the way. Maybe this year I will take my own advice.
I don’t have any bungee jumping type ideas, just a desire to take care of some long-shelved ideas. Stories to write. Artwork to craft. People to see. Come on 2022, let’s get a move on.
This photo was sent to me from my Rock several years ago. Sunrise at Rayburn. And the morning star.
Apparently, I sounded down in last week’s post. It wasn’t intended that way. I was actually feeling optimistic. I did make a run to the fabric store and craft store. Came away with a few things. I even found some of the items on my list at the local Walmart.
I have been making progress on the less than pleasant projects. Little bites consume the elephant.
A couple of dear friends are eyeball deep in the restoration of a cabin while inhabiting it. She mentioned having an opportunity to go through her recipe collection that has been in storage and it giving her renewed inspiration and enthusiasm to keep on with the less than pleasant portions of the project.
It models the method I have used for years to get things done. I will make my list of tasks and then set a timer for twenty or thirty minutes and work on the first one till the timer goes off. If I am really going great, I will keep on till I stall. I move on to the next item on the list and do the same thing with the timer. It is sometimes best to stop exactly with the timer. If the project is going well and the stopping place won’t cause a problem for proper execution, stop on the high point. When the project comes back around, it will be easier to pick up and move forward.
For the less than pleasant tasks, I have interspersed the happier ones to work on as well. For example, I am trying to sort out a box of his papers and get them filed. An elephant. I also picked up a fish bowl and some aquatic plants to make a water garden. A happy project. I am moving back and forth on chores and projects to keep from getting bogged down. I don’t always use a timer. After so many years of doing so, I can “feel” the time.
We had a good trip this past weekend to the longhorn sale. He came home with his pick of the lots. We got to visit with people we care about and only see once or twice a year usually. The sale has been going on for twenty-four years and some of us have been there since the first one. The trip for me was like my friend’s perusal of her recipes. It has given me renewed enthusiasm to push through the less than pleasant things.
I have been productive yesterday and today. I read a book, watched a movie, washed clothes. As mentioned earlier, I have worked on his filing. I have taken pleasure in drinking my own coffee on the porch and watching the hummingbirds battle it out for a few drops of sugar water. Even the elephant projects have been good.
Reading back over the above paragraph, I should clarify that reading a book and watching a movie count as productive for me since those items are on my lists of things to achieve for personal satisfaction. The book was one from the 1960’s by a favorite writer, Rosamunde Pilcher. The movie was one of Margaret Rutherford’s portrayals of Agatha Christie’s Jane Marple. As an aspiring writer, soaking in the art and craft of storytelling through books and movies is important. As for the comment about the coffee, one of the only things I struggle with when traveling is missing my morning coffee on the back porch. Traveling makes me appreciate it more when I do return home.
Here’s to a good week of creative expression and loving actions, good books and good coffee. May we have time to play and time to love. And time to stop and see the beautiful world He has made.
Raining Orchids 