The first of the month has magical powers, doesn’t it???

30 Saturday Jun 2012

Posted by in managing time

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Buster has mastered time management. That is why he is my mascot for these kinds of posts.

All days with special “beginning meanings” are more powerful for getting stuff started, right?  Monday- the first day of the week.  How many times do you tell yourself you’ll start that new thing on Monday? Even better -the first of the month – especially July 1, the beginning of the whole second half of the year– yeah, that’s powerful! Of course there’s the most powerful day of all -January 1 – the first day of a whole new year!!  But I can’t wait all the way until January so I’m going to start tomorrow.  July 1. Surely anything that’s begun on such an auspicious date has a better chance.  A better chance that I’ll stick to it.  A better chance that what I begin will become magically part of my everyday routine.

I’m going to wrangle  time once and for all.  To gently hold it down like Cesar Milan and show it who’s boss.  If you’ve been reading along with me here on the ol’ Wild and Precious blog for a while, you know that when I’m not writing about bonding with nature and loving hanging out with the cats and being wordless, I’m writing about time.  About trying to avoid being too busy, or trying not to get overwhelmed with tasks, stuff, to-do lists, etc. I have a bunch of theories about what’s going on with me, and I have a hunch they’re going on for others too – that this isn’t just my crazy little problem.   And I’m going to do a two month experiment to see just what happens when I treat this whole thing in a completely new way.  I can’t wait to tell you about it – but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.  Because you know – it will be July 1 and all.  And the first thing I’m probably going to talk about is how silly it is to wait for auspicious and magical dates to begin something important.

Little things . . .

29 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in savoring

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I’m a fan of appreciating the little things, like this feather after a rainstorm at the swamp last week.  Now that it’s summer and the pace is slower, I’m finding something summery and fun to do or notice or savor every day.  Tonight it was a moonlight dinner/picnic in the yard.  Me and my sweetheart and our two cats – no picnic food for the cats but they showed up anyway! What are you doing to savor summer?

Moonlit wordlessness

28 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by in the moon, walks, wordlessness

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I used to be afraid of the dark.  Once my brother went off to college and it was my job to bring the garbage cans up the driveway to the street, I would drag them up at top speed, then turn and sprint back to the safety the inside of the house.

What was I afraid of?  Goblins?  Witches?  Some kind of supernatural evil?  Who knows, but I’ll never forget the one time it was pitch black and raining and I was running so fast with those trash cans that I almost ran straight into Mr. Heath and his little dog, out for a walk in their matching slickers.  I think we both scared each other a little, but he certainly was no warlock.

Somewhere along the way, I lost my fear of the dark.  I spent more time walking around in the woods at night and found out that nothing really changed except it was quiet and you couldn’t see as much, and sometimes the sounds were different.

And some time after that, I grew to really enjoy walking in the woods in the dark, especially when the moon is out.  There’s something so amazing about seeing your shadow created by pure moonlight.

If you haven’t yet tried a nighttime wordless walk, this weekend is a great opportunity.  The moon will be close to full.  Go to a place where you feel safe.  Bring friends. Find a picturesque location to watch the sun set and the moon rise, preferably away from artificial lights.  Still your mind and just breathe and listen and be.  Stay long enough for it to get really dark so you can see your shadow by the moonlight. Marvel.

And if you’re in the New Orleans area, you can join me this Sunday at 6 p.m. at Jean Lafitte for a sunset/moonrise wordless walk.  We’ll meet at the Bayou Coquille parking area, and you can email me at carla@livingwildandprecious.com if you have any questions.  No matter where you are, if you haven’t tried nighttime wordlessness, give it a try and tell me what happens!

Wordless Wednesdays – animal wisdom

27 Wednesday Jun 2012

Posted by in animal wisdom

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I was walking in the swamp, trying to stay in wordlessness, but getting a bit caught up in the land of thoughts and a long list of imagined to-dos.  I asked for an animal with a message for me to appear, and this was the first one I saw.  Yes.  I needed to remember that.  Slow down and take my time.  Savor the process.  Relax into a rhythm.  Thank you, snail!

Too early, too late, too soon, not soon enough

25 Monday Jun 2012

Posted by in managing time, thoughts

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Buster doesn’t concern himself with issues of too soon or too late. He just naps whenever.

Someone emails you a question, and you read it and know the answer.  You could email them back right away and tell them.  Or your mind might get in the way.  “You’re not even supposed to be checking email right now!”  “They’ll think you’re not busy, just hanging out on your computer if you respond right away!”  “It’s 9 p.m. on a Friday night – what will people think if you respond to an email now?  They’ll think you don’t have a fun social life!”  Oh, Mind, you are so very funny.

Or let’s switch to blogging.  You have an idea, some cool photos, a basic plan of what to write.  But then your mind pipes in.  “It’s too early to write – let’s do some other stuff.”  Or, “It’s too late – we’ll do it tomorrow when we’re fresh.” Or “That post would make more sense on a Friday and it’s only Thursday.”  Or “Those photos are from an event last week – who wants to read about that now!  Too late!”

Your somewhat nutty but well-meaning mind has you putting things off, waiting because it’s too soon, and then abandoning because – Oh! Now it’s too late.

Guess what?  None of it is true.  And it really gets in the way of getting valuable stuff done.

So want a real life example?  (I only know this stuff because my mind has its nutty moments!)  Way back in April, an extraordinary fellow blogger named Jackie featured me in a beautiful Shine post on her site.  And I never really told anyone about it!  Why?  Because of my mind.  First it seemed too soon.  Then I was busy, then I was out of town, then I was out of town again, then it seemed too late.

If this ever happens to you, tell your mind to shhhhh… and do the thing.  It’s not too soon. To write your memoirs.  To dust under the bed, even if you did it last week.  To call your mom.  To try that business idea.  Or if you don’t do it and your mind says it’s too late, again tell your mind hush.  It’s not too late.  To send the thank you note.  To organize your finances.  To plan that vacation you’ve been dreaming of. To start taking care of your body.

So, without further ado, here’s the link to a Q&A session with Jackie – I loved her questions and loved doing this interview!  Perhaps reading this link is exactly what you need today, and that’s why I’m posting it, two months later in June.  That’s what I’m believing tonight.  Thanks again, Jackie for the insightful questions!