Help Wanted

Slowing moving gray day

One more cup of coffee please

I need help today

Getting Real

Some habits die hard and so for me is the habit of creating a to-do list that is way longer than any human being can accomplish in a week, let alone 24 hours. 

As I was madly running around yesterday, feeling the insane pressure of an over-scheduled day, it suddenly occurred to me that I had a choice. That no dean, committee or needy student was nipping at my heels to get things done, there was no time clock running and the semester was not about to end. Yet, that's exactly how I was operating. I'd put it on the list and dammit, I was going to do it. How utterly ridiculous. 

So I ditched the last activity on the list, stayed home and dealt with the stuff that had piled up and was making me crazy, and cleared the clutter. House cleared. Mind cleared. Stress gone. 

I aim to stop the glorification of busy. I really do. But this old habit is a deeply entrenched one and if I'm honest, it's rooted deeply in control. If I don't do it know one will. If I don't do it, it won't get done right. IF. IF. IF. There's that damn IF word again. 

As my friend Carrie once said, the "the to-do list is a trick of the ego designed to give me a set of problems that seem like only I can solve".  

So I'm ditching the old list in favor of the real one and making room. Not just for the good things, but for the GREAT ones.

Stormin'

A slow moving storm is ambling over our area today and will keep us company for the day. 

Glad I've got lots of indoor work to do,

 and a trusty assistant.

Our long gone, ancient maple continues to supply us with ample wood for the fire. I'll make soup from the frozen Thanksgiving turkey carcass and get the oven going with an egg casserole. Anything to keep our drafty old kitchen warm!

Curling up with a good book, a kitten or two and a huge mug of coffee is awfully tempting today, 
but there is a ton of stuff to do today.

Happy, cozy, peaceful, productive winter day.

Eff

In honor of my dear friend Kathy who braved cancer not once but FOUR times, I vow to live life through a filter of greater optimism, gratitude and grace. I vow to lighten up already and when occasion calls for it, not shrink from using a well placed "F" bomb. I know Kathy would approve.

K and I are prone to researching 'til we're blue in the face. It's time now for us to take some risks. Time to move outside our comfort zones and into the realm of possibility. Even a squeak outside the comfort zone would do. It's time to stop wondering what if and make a move, make a decision, and act on all that research. 

It's time to...

Let's FLY!

OK, here we go!

Soon

Dreams are spinning, ideas are flowing and plans are being made. It's especially wonderful to have a big project up and running in the dark time of the year. And even more wonderful to watch it all come into focus. Soon it will be Solstice.

 Build up the bonfires, now the seasons turn
Welcome in another year and let the old one burn

Here come your sorrows, all your old regrets
every broken promise and every unpaid debt

Light the bonfires, another year has flown
Gather friends around you don’t spend the night alone

Perched on your shoulder yearning toward the flame
Pour them a glass of whiskey and greet them all by name
 
Sweep out the courtyard to greet the coming year
Lay a handsome table, your visitors are here

Build up the bonfires now the seasons turn
Welcome in another year and let the old one burn

(with thanks to Zoe Mulford)

Choosing

Choosing the high road. I know it's right. I know it brings good karma. I know it's better for my overall health and well-being. 

But sometimes it's hard and often it just sucks.

Mindfulness. 

The gift that keeps on giving and the only way to  keep the negative thoughts from intruding and taking over the script.