The Value and Direction of Preparation

Preparation for anything ~
a trip or baking a cake ~ is valuable.
Why?  
To be ready to act on a decision.
To avoid, or at least minimize, drama and second guessing.
To recognize what is absolutely needed.

Now the way everyone prepares is quite different.
I like to think I’m organized....as in schedules, boxes and timelines
And I suppose I am ~ when I’m at work.....
where the schedule for the day is always....well.....prepared ~
and the same as it's been forever.

At home, I drift ....... so I write myself a list....sometimes.
I’ve travelled enough I know 
what I need to take
what I want to take
and what I’m able to carry.

But the steps are the definitely the same
Gather what is needed.
Arrange things so they're readily available.
Clean up when you’re done....
But the path taken may be just a bit of a wander.

So when I prepare, I try to relax and just drift 
from one thing to the next 
gathering, arranging, and cleaning up
until I am ready to go.
There are always things that I want to have done
before I walk out the door....usually unnecessary.....
and definitely not a matter of life or death.
Is that part of a multitasking habit?

Mainly, for me, effective preparation is
free of panic, frustration and drama
allows achieving a goal with relative ease.

“Some people are making such thorough preparation 

for rainy days that they aren’t enjoying today’s sunshine.”

~ William Feather

From Apathy to Challenge

Motivation's flow jammed, plugged. Thick and thicker sludge blocked the current, ignoring, then nudging, then shoving gives way to apathy and indifference.

Large, lazy bubbles rise through thick sludge, 

blurp valuable affirmations 

from the depths splashing and clearing slippery, silty sludge.

Oozing gives way to trickles, then free running rapids.
Rafting, riding or surfing new found flow is the challenge.

“To change one’s life.....Start immediately.....No exceptions.”

~ William James

Individuals Preferred

Tiny valued prisms of light
toyed with and polished by day at home and hearth
shared cautiously in conversation with friend and foe
cloaked in silence or pretty words when risk of sharing is too great
yet shown in colour and style
felt in energy and manner
heard in rhythm and turn of phrase
interest honed and developed
Personal preference matters.

“..be yourself-not your idea of what you think

somebody else’s idea of yourself should be.”

~ Henry David Thoreau

Early Morning Windsong

Morning ..... still dark........
One valued hour stolen...
too early for even an early morn
Awake.....sleep grabbed away
hard wind shuddering between houses
whistling along wires
punting cloudy fluffs across blue black sky still filled with stars and downing moon
under lit by brassy streetlights
shining down on nighttime rainy streets.

“Three o’clock is always too late or too early

for anything you want to do.”

~ Jean-Paul Sartre

A Difficult Lesson

Two chairs face each other
One kid on each chair
Quiet chatting encouraged
Kicking a definite no-no
Fifteen minutes is a very long time

Finally free to jump off the chairs
rolling, tumbling, and running away
lost in silliness that leads to tears.

Learning the value of 
calming, slowing and stillness
and time for a tea party.

“Some people regard discipline as a chore. For me,

it is a kind of order that sets me free to fly.”

~ Julie Andrews

Childhood's Messages

Childhood’s messages come quietly along tucked precariously behind ears that also balance eyeglasses.
When they wobble and threaten to fall, they are wedged unceremoniously back in place.
Some old messages need to be tossed in the shredder,
but some old messages do have value.
Still others need to be reworded with today’s language.
Wah-Wah-Wah may be more important now.

“Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough

information about life to last him the rest of his days.”

~ Flannery O’Connor, Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose

Musing about Belief

Belief has been on my mind since early this morning ~ maybe even sometime yesterday.

 When I arrived in the city of Regina, fresh from small town Saskatchewan in September of 1965, I thought that my beliefs were intact, without really knowing what exactly they were, or that these beliefs would grow and develop. All of them had been handed to me from family, friends and community, and put away somewhere in my heart and my head, lost in all the stuff of my growing up years. 

Once in the city, with so many new friends, opportunities and experiences, those beliefs were challenged by beliefs of new peers who came with their own histories. But my erroneous assumption was that we all shared the same values!  

Often my thoughts drift to that understandably naive young girl and remember some of the dips and turns that she took in those early years. She was pretty stubborn too! What I have sorted from all this is that beliefs gleaned in our growing up years provide a foundation for us. As we grow and continue through our lives, those beliefs lend value and strength to our decisions. Our belief systems may even change.  Not so much in content, but in the way we exercise them.

Beliefs needing a lot of work on a regular basis is belief in myself: my value in this life and how I exercise my beliefs. Learning how to do that without anxiety and intrusion in other’s beliefs has been a challenge I have become willing to face.

“I always say be humble but be firm. Humility and openness 

are the key to success without compromising your beliefs.”

~ George Hickenlooper

Scared To Miss Something!

That’s what mom used to tell me.

Tired tonight....
what value is feeling gritty behind eyes, in muscles longing to rest and just plain flat.
Creative writing......well......is just not very creative - and that’s part of the feeling.
Red flags from brain and body that it’s time - and maybe long past time for some rest.

Work could be blamed but other things needed attention - 
like pool time and exercise,
coffee with friends, 
shopping, walks and a meeting
home and hearth care 
cooking tasty meals for my freezer
reading books about gardening and short stories from Alice Munroe
a birthday party tonight! - and a pork appetizer to make for my contribution   (Recipe is Pork Satay Skewers and can be found at <allrecipes.com>)

Now that I'm home from the party, I’ll soon wander off to bed.

“You feel fine, and then, when your body can’t keep fighting, you don’t.”

~ Nicholas Sparks, A Walk to Remember