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

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.

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

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!

Worshiping at the altar of busy

It's funny, I was talking to a good friend about my crusade against the word "crazy-busy" and this idea of everyone telling everyone else how busy they are all the time, like it's a badge of honor. And surprisingly, she said, "Do you know how embarrassing it is not to be busy?  What are you supposed to tell people?"

Oh. Right.  That's how we show that all is well in our culture.  A packed calendar, a list of accomplishments - a whole lot of doing, doing, doing.  We're fine - we're  just so busy!

Me - I'm starting to rebel against this kind of thinking. For the past bunch of years, I've been slowly chipping away at this concept. Now when people ask, "How are you?  Really busy?"  I've stopped saying, "Oh, yeah. Things are just so busy." Because I really don't want to live that way anymore.

Sure, sometimes I'm still busy, and sometimes my days are super-full.  But I'm not all proud of it anymore.  In fact, when my calendar gets too stuffed, I get honest with myself about what's going on that's led me to pile up so many appointments or commitments.  I get really curious.  Especially if I'm saying yes to everyone but myself.

I know what you might be thinking - that you don't have any choice.  That there's absolutely nothing you can do to escape the modern scourge of busyness.  Or that if you do elect to be less busy, that you'll be excluded, ostracized, shunned. And God forbid you don't sign your kids up for every available sport, activity, party, etc. Really - if we weren't busy with all of this stuff, what would we post on Facebook?  Pictures of us finally getting enough sleep???

If you are craving a weekend of less busy and more you, with time to think and reflect and perhaps create a new reality for yourself by figuring out how to say yes to what you really want and no to what you don't,  consider joining me for my Clarity and Connections retreat in beautiful St. Francisville, LA, July 27-29.  A small group of women gaining clarity about what we really want and connecting with nature, ourselves and each other.  With waterfalls included!  Check out the details here.

I've designed it for me - what I mean is that it's exactly what I want when I'm craving  a weekend to press my own internal reset button.  There will be plenty of Wordlessness à la Martha Beck, plus free time to lounge and reflect, along with some powerful tools that will give you major clarity, fast, even if like me, you're already sold on the idea of backing off on busy.

$99 reserves your spot, and there's still time to get the early bird rate! Click here to go to the information page.

And I'd love to hear your thoughts about busyness.  How are you dealing with it in your daily life?

Buster wisdom: Sitting in the grass and the power of *and*

My head is positively swirling with ideas, to-dos, tasks, brainstorms - you name it.  And I am tired.  I just returned from an incredible coaching mastery retreat where I was supported, inspired, and filled up.  And now there's so much to do!  And I want to wave my wand and have it all done now. The actual doing is a different story, as I suddenly feel the overwhelming urge to nap... I spent the early morning today at the collision center dropping off my car and picking up a rental.  You may recall, when I was all zen about not worrying, that our car died.  And we bought a new one.  Not only new, but from the future!  A 2013!  And then a distracted driver backed into it while it was parked in front of our house last week.  This was not part of the plan.

So my wand waving waited. On the way home from the collision center, I stopped at the farmers' market and bought peaches, blueberries, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, squash, eggs and more.  I filled my bags with healthy local food.  My computer and my wand waving waited a little longer.

As I opened the gate I saw my best wisdom teacher, Buster, resting in the shady front yard.  I unpacked the food, then stepped barefoot into the lovely grass and joined him.  And breathed.  Because if I don't have time, on a beautiful sunny day, to sit in the grass for a few minutes, then something is really off.

This week I'm going to believe in the word "and".  I can work toward my goals *and* sit in the grass for a few minutes.  I can complete tasks *and* cut up strawberries.  I can drive to unexpected places like collision centers *and* enjoy the trip, rocking out to the 80's on satellite radio.  I can write *and* I can nap.  I can create *and* I can breathe.  Wow.  Buster knows.  We are so lucky.

What are some of your *and* statements for the week?

No more waiting for normal

A very un-normal anniversary breakfast - definitely special!

Have you ever said to yourself, "I'll get to that when things get back to normal.  They're just so crazy right now!"  Do you wonder when you're going to have a "normal" day where you can accomplish all those tasks and routines that never seem to get done because of some unusual or unexpected event that pops up?  Do you get frustrated because your vision for daily life isn't the way you actually live?

Recently, in a coaching mastery class, I was encouraged to "claim business hours."  This makes a ton of sense, as those of us who are entrepreneurs can find ourselves working all hours of the day and night, leading to exhaustion and burnout if we're not careful.  My master coach confessed to texting in the tub back in the days before she claimed her own business hours.

Well,  all I can say is I'm working on it.  This is harder than I thought!  And the reason I'm finding is that I never seem to have a "normal" day where I can stick to a set routine.  Our car breaks down and we need to buy another one.  And then I need to go back to the dealership to handle paperwork, pick up the license plate, etc.  Or it's Jazz Festival and we have house guests.  Or it's Mardi Gras and we have house guests, not to mention parades! Or a friend experiences a sudden loss.  Or someone gets sick. Or I need to do taxes. Or I'm going out of town.  Or the moon is full and I take our visitors out to the swamp for an impromptu moonlit wordless walk.

So I've given up on normal.  I'm not sure that "normal" days exist!  And instead of worrying about it, I'm just embracing each day as special.  I can still set general goals, make sure I'm not working all the time and have a basic idea of what I'd like to accomplish.  Then when I inevitably move things around and do everything in a completely different order than I'd envisioned, with new activities tossed in and other tasks abandoned, I can remember that all is well. And it doesn't make sense to wait for "normal" to prioritize what's most important to me. Normal's never going to come. Instead, it's another unique, special day, in a very happily un-normal life.

What about you?  Does your "real life" match your vision of "normal life"?  Do you get frustrated with surprises and interruptions or adapt to them?  Do you prefer strict routines or just a basic framework?  What makes your days special?  How do you embrace the unexpected?  Please feel free to share your stories, thoughts and tips in the comments - I'd love to hear from you!