Life gets in the way of itself

Have you ever felt that life had a tendancy to get in the way of itself? What I mean is, do you ever feel so busy and aspire to do so many things, whether it is in one day or over the course of "time" that very little is accomplished? Sort of like running in circles, but more like an outward spiral. In keeping with previous posts regarding "The Secret" and other motivational inferences, I prefer to take a more positive view than this sounds so far. First, though, I think I need to explain more fully what I mean. Strap on your seatbelts - I am about to take you on a journey through my mind.....are you scared yet? *sinsiter cackle*

Wow! This is more challenging than I thought! All right, I'll begin with daily "aspirations". For me, as for everyone, I suspect, these things change depending on the day. It could be walking the dogs, petting the birds, cleaning the fish, playing with Baby Ruth, grocery shopping, house cleaning, laundry, an oil change for the car, or perhaps all of the above. (OK, so I don't do much of the grocery shopping, but I pitch in everywhere else......supermarkets frighten me.....so much food....so many people........) In addition to these tasks, which are on-going, there are the larger "one-time" projects - painting the doors, replacing doors, a bit of sewing, painting the trim, building a room or buying a house (this last to accomodate our growing family). As the weather warms, there is landscaping to think about. Next we have the walks in the park, blog updating, other writing, time for meditation, planning for the upcoming rec. softball season, and for me a very important part of life, Martial Arts - which leads right into the daily dietary considerations - to fast or not to fast.....and a wealth of other contemplations when it comes to deciding what to consume.....green things are good, processed things are bad.....and what about the air that we breath? the plastic toys? the "mainstream" diapers? aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!
(hey, I warned you that this was a journey through my mind......)
All right, so there are many activities that are available to be accomplished and completed. These are in addition to that little thing called "job". I love my job at the Paper Mill, and often welcome the opportunity to go there. Not because I want to get away from home, but because I enjoy what I do. It does, however, take time from the other things that I want to do. Overall, I feel very fortunate to have so many opportunities to do different things. BUT, the big BUT.......this is where life tends to get in the way of itself. Corporate folks might take the "time management" perspective and say that it is just a matter of managing my time and that I should, perhaps, keep a daily planner and stick to it. What that says to me is, "aaargh! one more thing that I have to do....I have to take the time to sit down to figure out how much time I have for each activity." -- not so helpful.

Where is the positive message in all of this? (A very good question, that is!)

Clearly, priorities must be set, and met. Family first. This includes SELF. We are no good to anyone else if we are not good to ourselves first. This is not an act of "selfishness", although it may sound like it. As I said, I am thankful to have so many opportunities to accomplish different things. The challenge for me lies in my effort to "quiet my mind". I am making an increased effort to set aside some time for daily meditation, in one form or another. The other things to be done are still going to be there afterwards, and if I am lucky, the Fairies (remember the Fairies? - scroll down....) will return and do all of the painting for me!

So, while life does sometimes get in the way of itself and trip us every now and again, we must focus on simply being. Everything will come together in its own time - just enjoy the journey!

Remember: "What we think about, we bring about!"