This week it became summer in my part of the world. The nice kind of summer with sun, mild breezes, temperatures in the 70's and the long long days of light. This sort of summer is my favorite time of year. I have to confess, I don't do well when summer turns angry, the sun lights up a cigar, bears down on the earth and laughs at us. It is a good thing the days are long, because after 7pm in the evening is the only hope of getting something done for the day, other than staring at the walls and wishing it would cool down.
For now, it is happy summer time in my world. The days are perfect for perfecting what I'm calling "The Art Of The Saunter." I usually spend my days at the speed of light. Running and doing and packing a ton of things into my day. I flop down in my bed at night and don't even remember hitting the pillow only to start the race all over again the next morning. Ugh. Yes, I am a person with a lot of energy. I am a person who loves to experience all the world has to offer- everyday. So, I find it challenging to saunter through the day. Yet Mr. Thoreau has a point here. I can drive through my life at 100 miles an hour and maybe get to where I'm going or I can slow down a bit and see where I am going and enjoy life a bit more. Instead of flopping down into bed each night to shut out the "to do list"; drift off to sleep with the enjoyment of my day and the knowing that there are more wonderful things to do and experience when I wake up.
Just writing that seems calming. This week, I also found myself in conversations that involved the "to do list."
How it was never ending. How it controled lives. How un-fun, un-fullfilling the "to do list" really is.
I came to the conclusion we can use this tool to have a sense of control in our lives, but to not let it control us and our life. Looking at a to do list- ask how much of it is a "should do" list. I'm going to ask how much fun are "shoulds"? So are the items on our lists shoulds or things we just need to do in order to relax more be in the moment and have some life enjoyment. Next I'm going ask to look at the list and which items are "A"s- meaning if I don't get these off my list now...my world is going to crumble, at very least cause more stress and make me crumble. Then look for "B"s and "C"s. If you have more than four "A"s on the list on any given day, might I suggest you have a strong look at your life and how it is being conducted. Are those really and truely "A"s? What can you do to move them down to a "B" or "C" or off the list completely?
And lastly, the biggest question of all...do you really need that "to do" list? (It is just a question, keep breathing here.)
For now it is summer, I'm going to master my art of a saunter. It will be a challenge as I stated I love to run at a 100 miles a minute. Learning to saunter sounds good. I'll let you know how it goes.
Does your "to do" list control you or do you control your "to do" list?
Until next week...create to feel greate.
35 projects complete. 17 to go.
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