Simmer Down Now

I just can't relax anymore. I was sitting on my back porch, eating breakfast, not due at work for 3 hours, marveling at my yard and the cardinals and woodpeckers and the other side of my brain kept interrupting with post-its about what I should be doing. Geeze! What is it about modern day life that has programed us into some sort of multi-tasking frenzy? I never take the time to relax and enjoy the good stuff. IE; my lemon tree and how big it is getting. I feel guilty if I am not doing at least two things at once. Wayne says that's why I never get anything done when I want to, yet he feels guilty if he doesn't keep up with his workaholic boss and the tons of hours that guy puts in.

Rant Alert:

I miss the good ole days when I didn't feel like everything was a race. When we didn't work our tails off to have so much stuff that we had to have monthly storage spaces.

Cliche Alert:

We used to take time to smell the roses, now we buy rose scented air fresheners with automatic fans to blow the scent around.

I am currently reading Tom Sawyer (and Dr Phil) and I am struck by the slow pace of the world Twain depicts. People worked a lot harder then, but they did not feel the need to fill every moment with work.

I haven’t read Tom Sawyer in 30 years or so and the book reminds me that I can’t remember anything being fast when I was a kid. It used to take a year from one birthday to another and it seemed like Christmas wouldn’t come till sometime after you were dead. I am also struck by how wonderful Twain’s voice was; I hope that I was influenced by his style. He illustrates the simple pleasures of life in the scene where Tom and one of his school boy chums have a game of Pong with a tick. They are amused forever by whacking the bug around with pins. I wish I could get back to that kind of calm. I don't know how I got to where I am bored watching TV, reading a book and eating at the same time? I have a weird need to always be doing something, and it seems I get less and less done.

There are so many things I want to do, but I want to enjoy doing them. I want to be able to really experience each thing and not just move from event to event, task to task, book to book, so that I can cross them off my list.

So, my new plan is to read one book at a time, do one task at a time, and live one event at a time. I want to rewire my brain back to when I subconsciously understood that not doing something is doing something. Take care and slow down.

Wendy