That's what my week is like.
Has anyone seen Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday?
Know what I mean?
I'm just giving up on the idea that there ever was a seven day week.
Ripleigh Go Bragh
Connemara stallion Ripleigh Go Bragh
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Unfamiliar Ground
Yesterday I tried something new and fell on my face in the mud.
All I did was step off the feed platform from a different area. It was a simple enough procedure really, but apparently my body wasn't quite ready for such a big change as stepping off of a different step instead of the one I step off from two or three times a day.
So, my feet felt that surely my mind must be wrong about leaving my foot were it was. Nope, when the knee is bent like this, in this place, then the foot needs to turn and come off the wood block. So, my foot got stuck and I fell in the mud.
The moral... never cover new ground as if it were familiar territory.
All I did was step off the feed platform from a different area. It was a simple enough procedure really, but apparently my body wasn't quite ready for such a big change as stepping off of a different step instead of the one I step off from two or three times a day.
So, my feet felt that surely my mind must be wrong about leaving my foot were it was. Nope, when the knee is bent like this, in this place, then the foot needs to turn and come off the wood block. So, my foot got stuck and I fell in the mud.
The moral... never cover new ground as if it were familiar territory.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
What if you could grow-down instead of growing up?
In Norton Juster's Phantom Tollbooth there are a race of people who start life floating in the air because they spend their lives growing to the ground instead of up to their final height. This way their perspectives never have to change as they grow taller.
I used to think this was an amazingly clever idea, until I noticed that most people's perspectives don't change as much as one would think.
I'm thinking of the less literal usage of the phrase. As in the "what do you want to be when you are a grown-up?"
I'm sick of growing up. It is too much work, it is hard and there is no final destination. There are some great rewards, the best being the fact that when you go to a candy store you can buy all you want, you don't have to ask for permission AND you can eat it all before dinner.
I've decided I am going to grow-down from now on. Enough of this uphill battle against gravity, time, myself and everything else. My butt is sagging, my skin is sagging, everything is trying to give me the message:
GROW-DOWN ALL READY! jeesh...
In Norton Juster's Phantom Tollbooth there are a race of people who start life floating in the air because they spend their lives growing to the ground instead of up to their final height. This way their perspectives never have to change as they grow taller.
I used to think this was an amazingly clever idea, until I noticed that most people's perspectives don't change as much as one would think.
I'm thinking of the less literal usage of the phrase. As in the "what do you want to be when you are a grown-up?"
I'm sick of growing up. It is too much work, it is hard and there is no final destination. There are some great rewards, the best being the fact that when you go to a candy store you can buy all you want, you don't have to ask for permission AND you can eat it all before dinner.
I've decided I am going to grow-down from now on. Enough of this uphill battle against gravity, time, myself and everything else. My butt is sagging, my skin is sagging, everything is trying to give me the message:
GROW-DOWN ALL READY! jeesh...
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Overwhelm
Does overwhelm bring out the control freak in you?
Lord, does it bring out the control BITCH in me! I could write pages and pages about why it does it, what I do to deal with it and most of all I can make lists and schedules. But, I suspect that my writing pages and pages is in fact a sign of overwhelm. It is as if all those words will lead me out of the town called Overwhelm and into the State of Bliss.
Language has such clear structure and orderliness to it. Writing gives me such great sense of power over my mind and better yet, it means that I can lay on the couch, feeling important, while nothing else gets done.
Action can help overwhelm but mostly it just leads to more confusion and indecision. Which do I do first? Gosh, maybe I'd better sit down and write a list to sort out my priorities. Pick one? Okay, but what about those twenty other balls I've got tossed into the air?
The trick is to think of overwhelm as distraction from the thread I mentioned a few posts back. But for those of you who are too overwhelmed to add looking for that post to their list, here's my idea once again.
Your heart has been whispering to you since you were a baby. Basically, our heart's desire is a really crappy communicator. Most of the time it is too quiet to hear, other times it is screaming at you so loudly that all you can do is shut it out. The rest of the time it just sits there resisting all your attempts to do anything other than obey it's indistinct, difficult to achieve and seemingly illogical demands. Still, our hearts beat for one thing only and that one thing is to achieve your heart's desire.
I think of my heart's desire as a thread and the actuality of it as the eye of a needle. If I can get that thread through the needle, I will be living my heart's desire and it will be very fine indeed.
The problem is that I am trying to thread this needle in the dark, with a lot of noisy, bumping, irritating things that keep getting in the way (my bad habits). Not only that, but my hands are shaky, the thread keeps sticking to my callouses and worst of all my body is cramping up from the effort.
Now add people, animals, bills, dishes, etc. to the mix and you have what I call a challenging situation in which to thread a needle. A.K.A. Overwhelm.
The only way to thread a needle under these conditions is to keep your focus on the thread, your hand and the eye of the needle- not the other side of it, the front of it. It requires a combination of soft and hard focus. Sticking out your tongue and shutting one eye also helps. Breathe, believe, and most of all go slow- especially when that tiny end sticks out on the other side for you to grab.
In short, when overwhelmed you must concentrate on the really, really important thing in your life: your heart's desire.
If it's hard to hear try just sitting still and listen to its beating. Then do exactly what it tells you. You'll know it's the real thing because it will almost always start with the phrase, "trust me".
Good luck!
Lord, does it bring out the control BITCH in me! I could write pages and pages about why it does it, what I do to deal with it and most of all I can make lists and schedules. But, I suspect that my writing pages and pages is in fact a sign of overwhelm. It is as if all those words will lead me out of the town called Overwhelm and into the State of Bliss.
Language has such clear structure and orderliness to it. Writing gives me such great sense of power over my mind and better yet, it means that I can lay on the couch, feeling important, while nothing else gets done.
Action can help overwhelm but mostly it just leads to more confusion and indecision. Which do I do first? Gosh, maybe I'd better sit down and write a list to sort out my priorities. Pick one? Okay, but what about those twenty other balls I've got tossed into the air?
The trick is to think of overwhelm as distraction from the thread I mentioned a few posts back. But for those of you who are too overwhelmed to add looking for that post to their list, here's my idea once again.
Your heart has been whispering to you since you were a baby. Basically, our heart's desire is a really crappy communicator. Most of the time it is too quiet to hear, other times it is screaming at you so loudly that all you can do is shut it out. The rest of the time it just sits there resisting all your attempts to do anything other than obey it's indistinct, difficult to achieve and seemingly illogical demands. Still, our hearts beat for one thing only and that one thing is to achieve your heart's desire.
I think of my heart's desire as a thread and the actuality of it as the eye of a needle. If I can get that thread through the needle, I will be living my heart's desire and it will be very fine indeed.
The problem is that I am trying to thread this needle in the dark, with a lot of noisy, bumping, irritating things that keep getting in the way (my bad habits). Not only that, but my hands are shaky, the thread keeps sticking to my callouses and worst of all my body is cramping up from the effort.
Now add people, animals, bills, dishes, etc. to the mix and you have what I call a challenging situation in which to thread a needle. A.K.A. Overwhelm.
The only way to thread a needle under these conditions is to keep your focus on the thread, your hand and the eye of the needle- not the other side of it, the front of it. It requires a combination of soft and hard focus. Sticking out your tongue and shutting one eye also helps. Breathe, believe, and most of all go slow- especially when that tiny end sticks out on the other side for you to grab.
In short, when overwhelmed you must concentrate on the really, really important thing in your life: your heart's desire.
If it's hard to hear try just sitting still and listen to its beating. Then do exactly what it tells you. You'll know it's the real thing because it will almost always start with the phrase, "trust me".
Good luck!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Courage
What is courage?
Tonight I read some of my fiction in front of an audience at an open mike. It went well but to be honest, I don't really like doing it. It makes me nervous and frustrated by my lack of natural talent in the area of "acting". It started out being a really great thing and now it has become.... well, work.
When people talk about living their dreams, they don't talk about the part of the journey where it rains or they have blisters. They give the highlights bathed in the glory of completion. It sounds romantic to have wet feet and dirty hair for weeks on end. But in reality, it's work and pretty awful work at that.
Making dreams come true sucks. It is hard, nerve-wracking, exhausting, bank account emptying and tough on relationships.
It seems so much more exciting to slay a dragon and ride off into the sunset with the pretty girl. But guess what? Once the adrenaline rush is over, there's this chick that talks and talks and needs special food. She rides your horse while you walk and then expects you to marry her. Yep, it's work.
What is courage?
Personally I'd have to say it was stubbornness bordering on idiocy. I mean really, the only difference between an idiot and a success is the fact that one's persistence paid off while the other's didn't.
I'm thinking that people who persist in making their dreams come true, fully expecting the wet socks and dirty hair, are the courageous ones. They are the workers.
I think courage is an act of faith in the value of work.
Here's a thought:
What if you were to think of all that hard work you have to do as acts of courage instead of tasks to accomplish on the way to slaying the dragon and rescuing the pretty lass (or lad)?
Tonight I read some of my fiction in front of an audience at an open mike. It went well but to be honest, I don't really like doing it. It makes me nervous and frustrated by my lack of natural talent in the area of "acting". It started out being a really great thing and now it has become.... well, work.
When people talk about living their dreams, they don't talk about the part of the journey where it rains or they have blisters. They give the highlights bathed in the glory of completion. It sounds romantic to have wet feet and dirty hair for weeks on end. But in reality, it's work and pretty awful work at that.
Making dreams come true sucks. It is hard, nerve-wracking, exhausting, bank account emptying and tough on relationships.
It seems so much more exciting to slay a dragon and ride off into the sunset with the pretty girl. But guess what? Once the adrenaline rush is over, there's this chick that talks and talks and needs special food. She rides your horse while you walk and then expects you to marry her. Yep, it's work.
What is courage?
Personally I'd have to say it was stubbornness bordering on idiocy. I mean really, the only difference between an idiot and a success is the fact that one's persistence paid off while the other's didn't.
I'm thinking that people who persist in making their dreams come true, fully expecting the wet socks and dirty hair, are the courageous ones. They are the workers.
I think courage is an act of faith in the value of work.
Here's a thought:
What if you were to think of all that hard work you have to do as acts of courage instead of tasks to accomplish on the way to slaying the dragon and rescuing the pretty lass (or lad)?
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