No news

I don't watch news on television. I unplugged from cable a year ago. I find myself checking websites every other day or so to scan for whatever news I happen upon on any given day. It's almost as time wasting as facebook but I think that's a personal opinion.

I'm not sure why but sites seem to think it's more important to have quantity instead of quality. Just reading some of the ridiculous headlines could have you shaking your head. I wonder why it's become so important to fill pages with stories that mean nothing.

Here are some samples of articles I've really seen.

• Dog Shaming -hilarious pictures of pet shaming
• Never look at figs the same way
• Celebrities - eating lunch, working out, shopping, breaking up
• I gave up ________ for a week and this is what happened

I won't get into the political items because I just can't. I mean, if this random list above is any indication of what there is to read, I give up.

TT

Tasks take time

I have started a new project and realized there is something good in knowing it will take time to finish. It isn't something I can do quickly and yet I can picture the idea of having it completed in my mind.

There is a certain amount of value from the idea that there is going to be some tedious minutes of work. There will be some monotonous tasks that will need to be performed over and again. It's going to take time but it will all add up to something creative at the end. I've got a feeling it will also contribute to a great feeling of satisfaction. The more work I put into it the more results I will have to show.

The end result will be that I finished a task that I knew wasn't going to be quick and easy. It will also result in the knowledge that I will know what I will change in future projects or how I would like to proceed from that point. I will have the experience of doing it and gained not only the task I took on but learned some really good things about it and what I would do differently along the way.

This is a new project for me. It's going to take some time to complete. I'm already enjoying the process.
TT

Joy in the moments

I have a tendency to plan. I am the type that will spend time organizing in order to get things straight or to have a blueprint of how my day, week, month might unfold. I will wake in the morning trying to map out the hours of my day.

This is a way for me to take a measure of my priorities and reconcile them at the end of the day. Did I get this done or what didn't get finished? It is a way to have direction in how my day might progress. It can also weigh heavy when those things that were supposed to be completed got pushed to the wayside.

It shouldn't be a measure of incompleteness. I am in the lovely position that I have the ability to be extremely flexible with how I want to spend my time. I can take longer to do the same tasks and find it's completely more enjoyable. I am beginning to think how I could possibly have crammed so many things into an hour before when it is so much more pleasurable to slow the pace and still get to the same destination.

It isn't as important to have a check mark after every task on my list at the end of the day. I'm finding ways to let the day unfold and hold on to more moments during the day. I will still have mornings of lists and plans. Sometimes they work out fine and sometimes the plan is lost. But at the end of the day, I have a much better list of many moments.
TT

Wrench in the works

There is a simple fact that things are going to change. You don't always get to choose the time frame. Most often it will be when you aren't expecting it and you will need to make adjustments. It can make things exciting if you are in the right state of mind or frustrating if you let the inevitability of these occurrences displace you.

The best thing to do is to make the adjustment and get going again. No doubt as soon as you get sorted out another change will present itself so you have to keep making decisions and moving forward. This is the way it goes and you need to keep on with the business of life.

There is no doubt theses situations can creep up on you at any point in time. They sometimes happen when you think you have things figured out. They happen when you have a routine in place. You can be thinking you've made all the plans and are on your way to getting it done exactly as you thought and that is when the  wrench gets thrown into the works. That saying is pretty descriptive. Everything will come to a screeching halt if such a tool is put in the path of accurately working gears. It doesn't matter how well greased and how smoothly things are running if a hard piece of metal is stuck where it shouldn't be placed. Change is that hard piece of metal.

But these things happen. It's not always easy to see what might be a good reason for it to happen. The size of the issue is entirely up to how you react to the change. You can make it bigger than it needs to be or try to stay relatively calm and figure out what you need to do next. You will need to do that either way so why not take the calmer route and save yourself the unnecessary rise in blood pressure. It's a pretty simple fact and there is nothing you can do to change it.
TT

And it begins

And so it begins.

It has already begun. It is actually a continuation and there is never a time when it isn't happening. Life goes on whether we decide it needs to pause, stop, or rewind. Pick up your gear and get going. It won't wait for you.

Start now. Figure it out. Get it straight in your head and move. It's a matter of decision and attitude. It can put you in the right frame of mind or allow you to falter. It is all up to you how you want to move on because it will keep going.

And here is the thing most interesting. You don't have to rush. Take some time to do what you do. It's not a race unless you make it. The deadlines will flex with you, expand and contract, to fit properly. The only one that stresses about that is you, caught up in your own mind. Let it go and let it happen. Don't get caught up in the haste. It has already begun and you have not fallen behind. You are exactly in the spot you should be. Now, where do you want to go?

The possibilities are wide open.
TT

Absence

What happens when four months go by and you don't write? How do you break the silence of no words? When do you find the appropriate time to take up the pen, pencil, or poise your fingers above a computer keyboard to form something that has gone missing? How do you start again after a hush?

You merely begin. There is no right or wrong. You just have to make the smallest of noise. You only need to start typing away and realize there is no need for grand re-introductions. The simplest of words will turn the the nothing into something as this is not the time for flourish. It's only a time to secure a foothold.

Many things can happen in four months. Silence is sometimes the best of cures. There is always and never an appropriate time. You need to hush long enough to be able to start again.
TT