Get 'er done!

There was a period of time, recently in fact, when I would go to bed at night thinking about all the things I would accomplish the next day. 

Literally, I would lie in bed thinking "ok, tomorrow, I'll get up, shower & eat & get out of the house & get STUFF done!".

And then the next morning would roll around.

And I'd get up & my son would want to sit on the potty & have stories read to him.

And then we'd get a banana & I'd check my email.

And then I'd throw some clothes in the washing machine & empty the dishwasher.

And then my son would want me to play with his trains with him.

And then we would talk our dogs for a walk.

And then I'd take a shower & we'd have breakfast.

And then....

Well, you see how it goes.  Next thing I know, it's almost lunchtime & we'd "wasted" half the day.

At some point, I took a look at my thinking.  My need to "get out of the house & get stuff done".

I'm not sure where it came from.  Maybe years of getting up & out of the house to go to a 9 to 5 job?  Maybe years of societal conditioning?  Maybe just me...

But once I started looking at it, I started to let it go.

I started practicing (again) living in the moment.  (I've been trying to practice this for as long as I've been teaching, but sometimes I forget).

Having an idea of things that need to get done in a day, but also having the flexibility & ability to go with the flow.  Remembering that I am fortunate to have the time to spend with my son. Waking up & enjoying being awake & at home.  Knowing that we'll get where we need to go, but more importantly, enjoying whatever the route is that takes us there.

We put alot of pressure on ourselves to "get stuff done".  And most of the time, we will accomplish what we need to do.  But we can often accomplish it without the added stress that we usually create ourselves.

It's easy to get sidetracked.  The practice is to enjoy being sidetracked (or at the very least, to stay calm & centered when it happens).  The practice is to enjoy the unpredictability of life - each moment of it.  Once that moment is gone - it's gone.  So enjoy it.

"Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone" - Lin Yutang

You can now find my blog at the Register Citizen: http:http://www.registercitizen.com/blogs/life/