The Santa with sled and Rudolph I pass on my morning walks was cute in December, but seems a little forlorn as we enter February, though its presence lets me know I'm not the only one who procrastinates. Soon. I'll do it soon.
That "soon" is a reality as I've begun work on Now What II, planned as a collection of earlier posts, categorized and perhaps expanded, with processing questions. I do better when I have a specific goal. "Write" or "exercise your creativity" are too open-ended. I learned long ago that if I waited for inspiration, not much would get done. Writing, as I'm sure are most artistic expression, is about discipline, about taking the time, suiting up and showing up. And sometimes about making one's intention public for the accountability.
On my walk over the weekend, I ran into an older neighbor, who was headed to an out of town gallery where she shows her paintings. I had no idea! She's in her 80's, and once told me she's hoping for another 10 years. I now have an invitation for a cup of tea to see her work. Inspiring, and a reminder that dreams and goal and inspirations don't have an expiration date.
Speaking of elders, I visited an older cousin this week, an older cousin who's adult kids don't want the family artifacts she's been lugging around for years. I took the old family Bible and other documents, as we spoke of connections and those long, long gone.. I didn't reproduce, so for me, these are merely stories, though for others in our lineage, are links for their children and grandchildren to connect to the hard working folks who came before. Whenever I even think about whining about nearly anything, I remind myself that I didn't have to milk my own cows or churn my own butter, or keep a fire going through the night in order to get a start on the new day's bread. I have much to be grateful for.
Speaking of grateful, I joined a couple of grade school pals for lunch last week, catching up, with a fair amount of "I remember when..." I suppose it's inevitable, to be grateful for the times one grew up in - the music, the freedom we enjoyed (and abused?) to run around the neighborhood unsupervised, the simplicity of the pre-tech era. And, I live in the here and now. I can appreciate much of my history, my era, but no one is served by my grousing about how things used to be. It is good to at least try to keep up. For me, that can mean detaching from social media or the "news," or watching an online "how to" tutorial on navigating a particular tech dilemma. It really is ODAT, one decision at a time.
If procrastination is a characteristic getting your attention this week, what is a small thing you can do to get moving (or to release the "should's"). Are there goals or dreams that you might be thinking of as "I'm too old for that!"? How might you release that energy and move into acceptance of energy available in the here and now? What tops your gratitude list today? If technology, or lack of knowledge, is a foe, how might you declare a truce?
* * * * * *
Time for a new year inventory? The NOW WHAT workbook is 78 pages of topics and processing questions, great for solo exploration or in a small group. Go to the WEB VERSION of this blog page for the link on ordering (PDF for those outside the U.S., or who prefer it, or hard copy mailed to you).
Contact me at SoberLongTime@soberlongtime.com or shadowsandveins@gmail.com with questions. A reminder that the workbook is available at Portland Area Intergroup, 825 NE 20th. for local folks. And Jackie, of TMar, has a supply as well, if you're at a conference where they have a table.
