The Pot of Coffee at the End of the Rainbow
Posted: August 17th, 2009, 7:40 am
Note: some ramblings from my journal Zen Upchuck which I thought I might share. Any comments are welcomed, any critiques are valued:
Where does one start? Starting is always the hardest part of any activity and any activity can seem overwhelming if you can't see the starting point. Trick is, just pick a point, it doesn't really matter which one, just go for it.
I am starting with cleaning off the dining room table where things just naturally gravitate to. Bills and miscellaneous mail, books I am reading, this 'puter, notebooks with pertinent info, receipts that need sorting, beadwork that needs doing, an invitation, calculator...you get the idea what I must deal with. Sometimes I must laugh as I couldn't believe the stuff that my boys' Nana would have piled in that table and here I am, piling stuff in the same place. Perhaps I will not care one day and let it accumulate like she did but for now, it clutters not only space but mind.
A secretary would sure be nice. Someone to keep track of my busy 'need tos' or 'should dos' or 'want tos'. Someone to tell me when the calendar says I have a doctor's appointment or I need to make one, someone to keep track of the numbers that plague me, someone to do the silly bead stuff that takes no creativity but buys the gas or lunch, someone that will fill my every need of the business of organization. I guess I really want an elf or a fairy godmother by the breadth of it. One plus is that all this stuff keeps my mind in high gear, oils the wheels and stimulates which at my advancing age, is a good thing. Cobwebs of the mind take a long time, if ever, to clean out and it is the kind of dust one does not want to accumulate.
I guess all of us would love a plumbers helper, someone to do the dirty deed and smile all the while. A gardener, a maid, a window washer, a bathroom cleaner, a dog poop picker upper, etc. would fit the bill too.
Alas, I am dreaming for I have no such luxury and truth is if my health was tip top, it wouldn't even matter for I have done all those things and willingly. Now it seems as if time has gotten so short, the door to the unknown is waiting and I have a stack, a pile, a dead tree snag of stuff that I will leave undone.
Then there is the matter of priority... One (me) must prioritize all that is really, really important and understand what that is, which my friends, can be tricky. Is star gazing important? Is reading a good book? Is observing the seasons and the denizens of nature important? Is sitting on the deck watching the comings and goings in the yard important?
I know that family and friends are important for without them a lonely place at the table is in the offing. I know that 'checking in' and 'touching base' are important and I try and keep pace. Touch is important for without touch babies wither and die. Flowers wilt without water and water is a analogy for caring. But, what else is of import?
Breathing is certainly important, bodily functions must happen at a regular pace in order to keep this machine ticking and this is also not always easy for we humans tend to ignore what is healthy and pay the price at the toll booth down the road we all hope to travel. Eat and drink as if your life depended on it for most certainly it does.
As I approach the door to the unknown I am not fearful for I know I have lived with all my might, that I have prioritized all the important stuff. A good view is important to me, a laugh with a friend is a thing of beauty, conversation is an art I work at and enjoy, I have read a good book or two and I am surely aware of the nature of things around me. I hope to keep this fragile craft of a body in as good an order as I can knowing that everything breaks down and returns to its original form. For what are we but universal dust so get yer 'imports' straight as you never will know what the future holds and your pasts should only be a lesson in steering this ship of your state.
Now, I need to go and finish this fine cup of kewl rig joe and watch the sun come up and dream of secretaries and elves and fairies and stuff. I hope you all have a productive or restful day.
Where does one start? Starting is always the hardest part of any activity and any activity can seem overwhelming if you can't see the starting point. Trick is, just pick a point, it doesn't really matter which one, just go for it.
I am starting with cleaning off the dining room table where things just naturally gravitate to. Bills and miscellaneous mail, books I am reading, this 'puter, notebooks with pertinent info, receipts that need sorting, beadwork that needs doing, an invitation, calculator...you get the idea what I must deal with. Sometimes I must laugh as I couldn't believe the stuff that my boys' Nana would have piled in that table and here I am, piling stuff in the same place. Perhaps I will not care one day and let it accumulate like she did but for now, it clutters not only space but mind.
A secretary would sure be nice. Someone to keep track of my busy 'need tos' or 'should dos' or 'want tos'. Someone to tell me when the calendar says I have a doctor's appointment or I need to make one, someone to keep track of the numbers that plague me, someone to do the silly bead stuff that takes no creativity but buys the gas or lunch, someone that will fill my every need of the business of organization. I guess I really want an elf or a fairy godmother by the breadth of it. One plus is that all this stuff keeps my mind in high gear, oils the wheels and stimulates which at my advancing age, is a good thing. Cobwebs of the mind take a long time, if ever, to clean out and it is the kind of dust one does not want to accumulate.
I guess all of us would love a plumbers helper, someone to do the dirty deed and smile all the while. A gardener, a maid, a window washer, a bathroom cleaner, a dog poop picker upper, etc. would fit the bill too.
Alas, I am dreaming for I have no such luxury and truth is if my health was tip top, it wouldn't even matter for I have done all those things and willingly. Now it seems as if time has gotten so short, the door to the unknown is waiting and I have a stack, a pile, a dead tree snag of stuff that I will leave undone.
Then there is the matter of priority... One (me) must prioritize all that is really, really important and understand what that is, which my friends, can be tricky. Is star gazing important? Is reading a good book? Is observing the seasons and the denizens of nature important? Is sitting on the deck watching the comings and goings in the yard important?
I know that family and friends are important for without them a lonely place at the table is in the offing. I know that 'checking in' and 'touching base' are important and I try and keep pace. Touch is important for without touch babies wither and die. Flowers wilt without water and water is a analogy for caring. But, what else is of import?
Breathing is certainly important, bodily functions must happen at a regular pace in order to keep this machine ticking and this is also not always easy for we humans tend to ignore what is healthy and pay the price at the toll booth down the road we all hope to travel. Eat and drink as if your life depended on it for most certainly it does.
As I approach the door to the unknown I am not fearful for I know I have lived with all my might, that I have prioritized all the important stuff. A good view is important to me, a laugh with a friend is a thing of beauty, conversation is an art I work at and enjoy, I have read a good book or two and I am surely aware of the nature of things around me. I hope to keep this fragile craft of a body in as good an order as I can knowing that everything breaks down and returns to its original form. For what are we but universal dust so get yer 'imports' straight as you never will know what the future holds and your pasts should only be a lesson in steering this ship of your state.
Now, I need to go and finish this fine cup of kewl rig joe and watch the sun come up and dream of secretaries and elves and fairies and stuff. I hope you all have a productive or restful day.