Wake-up Call

I was in the break room, in the early morning hours, when one of the supervisors came in.  I can’t say that she’s the most pleasant person on the floor, but she did manage to mumble, “Good Morning.” 

I mumbled back something very positive — something like:  “I’d rather be anywhere but here.”

Now, that comment — this early in the morning — usually brings agreement and a light chuckle from the other person.  Let’s face it.  Most of us would rather be ANYWHERE else but at work, so early in the morning…

Today, I learned that “most of us” is not “all of us.”

Nope.  This supervisor’s response was:  “Well, I’d thought all your outside activities created enough distractions for you.”

What she said (and the way she said it) was a bit odd — as if she believed that the main purpose of life is to live and breathe for the company… and “the other stuff” people do “away from the office” are simply fluffy distractions…

At first, I was slightly irritated.  I don’t feel any part of my life to be a distraction.  Every part has purpose… even the mundane part that is spent at the office.  I go to work and provide a service, for which I get paid, so I can live my life comfortably and completely.  Simply put:  I work to live and not live to work.

That’s when I had to remind myself of the difference between this supervisor and me.  Definitely, her existence revolves around her job.  She is defined — and sealed in — by her position.  She spends her days in her office, not interacting with others.  She feels that the more work she generates, the more valuable she is to her boss.  With this in mind, she designs more work for herself — and everyone working for her — than is needed to get the original task completed.  Because of that, she finds it necessary to take work home every night and weekend.  Even working these extra hours, she finds herself behind in her work — missing deadlines and making mistakes.  Her reward for all of this is to be disrespected and discounted by her boss. 

It’s sad to watch, because it’s obvious that she puts her heart and soul into her job, and none of it is appreciated… if noticed at all.  This causes her to walk around in a constant state of… numbness.

Yeah, I can see how — to her — my outside activities can be seen as distractions — and even interference — to her disciplined definition of existence. 

And, I guess she’s right.  If I lived to work, I’d probably be more like her…and be satisfied with simply existing.

But I don’t see that happening any time soon.  I’m having too much fun exploring the art of living…

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Intent

Things seem to be at a standstill with our various projects — and I can’t stay in a holding pattern for very long before I get antsy and find some creative distraction to entertain me…and I have...

I’ve turned my attention back on the “teen book” that I started last year (during another holding pattern of mine).

With everything that has happened over this past year, we’ve decided to revamp and broaden the focus of this second book.  With this book, we want to encourage everyone — teens and adults, alike — to live life to the fullest.  The book is intended to help us identify and deal with common hurdles and barriers that prevent us from following our dreams — which are the same hurdles and barriers that are preventing us from allowing others into our lives and hearts.

We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us on this second book, so it’ll be awhile before you’ll see it out — and you don’t need to wait on us before you start on your journey, but I want to caution you on something … 

Before running full-speed ahead with anything, we really need to understand the intent behind our actions.  Are we propelling ourselves to a new phase in our lives… or are we running away from our past? 

The intent behind our actions is important because it’s our intent that leads us to our ultimate outcome. 

For example, when we’re running away from something or someone, we’re focusing on getting away — and not on where we’re actually heading.  We just want to be someplace else or with someone else.  It doesn’t matter where else and with whom — just that it’s not the place or person we’ve just left.  By focusing on what we’re running away from, we can easily run right into a situation much worse than the one we’ve just left.

On the other hand, if we’re running toward something or someone, we’re looking forward to what’s ahead of us — not at what’s behind us.  We’re focusing on the future… and not on the past.

Another thing to keep in mind:  Like it or not, we’re not an island unto ourselves.  We need to take others into consideration whenever we make an important decision.  

This doesn’t mean we ignore our dreams; it means we have to be smart in the way we achieve them.  Our intent needs to focus on achieving our dreams without doing harm to ourselves or others.

Because everything is interrelated, everything we do affects others.  This means that every encounter, every decision, and every consequence to our actions affects others. 

Therefore, in everything we do, our intent must be focused on harming no one — i.e., ourselves or others — in whatever we pursue. 

That’s why, before you set off on your new adventure, it’s important to understand the intent and motive behind your actions — and focus them in the right direction. 

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What Bugs Me?

I walked into one of the opened office rooms where a small group had gathered around Julie.  They were all staring at her sweater’s sleeve.  I asked what was so intriguing on the sleeve.

“A bug,” came the response.

So, we had five people staring at the sleeve of the sixth person, contemplating the fate of this tiny, little bug that ended up in the wrong place…

After (what seemed to be) endless minutes, the conclusion was to take the bug outside and release it into nature, to be set free to enjoy its remaining days in sunlight — something us “office-folks” long for on a daily basis…

Watching this group from afar, I couldn’t help but think how sad it was that contemplating and guiding — if not controlling — this bug’s life on a sweater’s sleeve gave us more intellectual stimulation and life’s purpose than our jobs.

 That’s what bugs me…

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Let’s Enjoy the Journey We’re On

I just woke up, and the first thing that struck me was a feeling of… happiness.

Usually, I wake up with my mind already racing with all the things I have to accomplish this day, this week, and this month.  I get to work and look at the calendar and lament about how quickly time flies and how much is still is left to do…

But today… Today’s different, somehow.

This morning, instead of racing through all the things I had to do, my mind filled itself with all that I’ve accomplished thus far.  My mind immediately jumped to our writing projects and how we’ve put our final touches to the book.  This weekend, we’re passing it along to the graphic designer for his layout and cover design. 

Katherine has read the last two scenes I’ve written and has dubbed the play complete.  Yea!!!  She’s planning to share it with her theatrical contacts and get some input as to how we proceed from here… Double Yea!!!

Another friend of mine — who has two very active boys — finally read her year-old posts on Facebook and is excited about giving me feedback on our children’s book, so I sent her a copy of the first of that series.

I did a quick inventory on our writing projects and we have about ten ongoing ventures in various stages — all of which have viable promotional potential and outlets.  

We’re in the process of filing for a fictitious trade name, moving toward creating a brand name and identifiable “home” for our various ventures.

So,  yeah... I know this is probably the last thing you expect coming from me (aka Ms. Impatience), but everything is falling into place and working out the way it should. 

Although, I’ve been wishing that all this would move along much faster than it has, these projects are taking the time needed to evolve into what they are meant to be.  I see that now.

Yeah… this morning was good for me.  It reminded me that I need to stop… appreciate what I have… and celebrate what I’ve accomplished, thus far.

I’m never going to stop for very long.  I’m always going to want to push to reach our goals, but every once in a while, it is important to take the time to appreciate where we are and how far we’ve come.  These little celebratory “pats on the backs” are important in this process, because they help motivate us to continue on our life-long journey.

I don’t think a lot of us do that anymore — stop… appreciate what we have… and celebrate what we’ve accomplished, thus far.  We’re so consumed with outlining our goals — and taking the appropriate steps to achieve them — that we forget to celebrate the milestones we reach along the way.

We’re so focused on getting to where we want to be that we forget to enjoy the journey along the way. 

So, this morning is a good reminder to enjoy the journey we’re on. 

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“BUT” is Such a Scary Word!

I had another one of my dreams.  Even though it was a simple and short scene, it was interesting — interesting enough to set to paper.

Once on paper, it turned out to be a very intriguing scene, with the potential to turn into something I imagined could be used in workshops and meetings — to elicit discussion and group interactions…

With that in mind, that one scene lead to another… and another.

I shared the written scenes with Katherine, and wondered if she and her friends would like to act out the scenes — to generate discussions for their meetings.  Her groups were always looking for topics to discuss…

Katherine agreed that her groups were always looking for topics to discuss, and she knew of several people who would jump at the chance to act out the scenes with her, but…

[BUT… is such a scary word — especially coming from Katherine.]

But... Katherine liked the scenes soooo much that she didn’t want to stop at a couple — just to be used to generate discussion in social gatherings.

 

She wants us to develop a whole play and progress the story.  Once the play is complete, she has acquaintances who have the resources to produce and perform the play.  We could perform it live, video tape it, and/or produce an audio version of it.

She understands all this would require more time, effort, and work on my part — more than I originally intended and, possibly, wanted to put into it — but…

[BUT… is such a scary word — especially coming from Katherine.]

But what I’ve written so far is too good just to be treated as a simple discussion aid, in her opinion.

O…..K….

So, I write — what I thought — is a nice little play, but Katherine wants more.

So, I keep adding scene after scene, and Katherine keeps telling me we need another and another…

I see the same thing that has happened to our book is happening to the play.

We can never finish a project, because Katherine keeps wanting more… and more… and more…

Yes… her suggestions always make the projects better, BUT if we never finish a project… well, we’ll never finish…

Hopefully, during my lifetime, one of these projects will see the light of day, BUT…

In the meantime, I’m on a new writing adventure… adding aspiring playwright to aspiring author…

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Trying to Chillax

I’m taking today off and am doing nothing…well, almost nothing.

The phone has stopped ringing; the laundry is done; the vacuuming and dusting can wait for another day.

The last two weeks have been full of ups and downs: counseling friends and confessing to friends; covering for vacations at work and dealing with unreasonable deadlines; contracting and coordinating contractors to help with home maintenance issues; trying to keep my head firmly planted in reality regarding our writing projects, etc.

Yes, it’s a great feeling to be (somewhat) successful in juggling the different facets of your life… but it is also draining.  If we don’t take time out for ourselves to rejuvenate, we’ll start to lose our balance and focus. We’ll start dropping things all over the place — which isn’t a good thing to do if you’re a master juggler…

So, I’m taking a day off and just chillaxing…

At first, I’d thought I’d go to the movies, but my legs and arms have a different plan.  They’re pulling me back to bed… for an early afternoon nap and a lazy day with the TV remote.

I won’t argue with such a luxurious and guilty pleasure.

I’ll be back juggling in the morning.  See you then.

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