Staying on task

It's interesting that the more we keep doing the same task over and over, the more we find it hard to do. Maybe the task was defined to specifically and it lead to boredom and then our mind wanders.

When we commit to reading every day, it's easy not to get bored because there are so many things to read. The challenge is in creating a space that allows for that habit to be supported.

I like to read right after lunch to disconnect from my morning brain that is still racing. I see it as a meditation-style effort where I am consciously shifting my attention away from the past and into the present. It's hard to read without being present.

This short video from my favorite blog reminded me that I've not been as focused on stretching as I was when I had my Tuesday / Thursday track group to hold me accountable.

While I'd like to do more yoga, I've been filling that time slot with yard work, raking acres of soil as if it was my zen garden . . . but once again I digress.

Add this collection of 5 simple moves to your flexibility routine when you get bored of some of the more traditional exercises.

Enjoy.

Broken Block

Breathing egg shell dust.

We have resorted to 6 minutes of content repeated 200 times a day. We have become CNN, and anything out of that cycle seems to be sacrilege. Eggshells beneath every conversation.

How about dreaming up your next vacation or imagining that dream house? That's fine so long as you keep it to yourself.

This doesn't mean we should not care for those who are suffering, or at risk, but do we really need to sneak up on the future so quietly just because it's unknown? The future has always been unknown.

This 'unprecedented' situation does not mean that we can't imagine and dream. It just means that we are leaping from an unknown vantage.

It can also mean that we are leaping with a renewed sense of purpose. The innovations across the board will indeed be staggering.

Small steps might become break throughs. Family staycation planning might take the form of gearing up for backyard glamping, or planning out 48 hours of themed meals and long walks to complement watching the three- part Lord of the Rings movie series. Dream houses might be completely re-imagined after spending so much time at home.

This is not new, it's what creative people do every day. They leap. It's like the divisible by three observation mentioned before. We are naturally slow to make sense of the present when the future is uncertain. To feel more certain dreamers and leaders imagine a future and then help us all to live in to it.

Those dreamers and leaders are still among us . . . and my sense is that they might even be multiplying.

Perhaps you are one of them.

Monday Blues

This recording was amazing long before the social distancing mandate but it might hit home a little harder with our new-found, first-hand appreciation for trying to synchronize from a distance. The subtleties in this mix with voices and instruments coming in and out are mind-boggling.