Finding the Write Time

Writing takes up a lot of time. It’s easy to say to someone to make time like one can manufacture this precious commodity at the kitchen table with some sparkly glitter, a hot glue gun and determination. Time can not be made. We only have 24 hours in a day. Many of those hours are wasted, in my opinion, on sleep and unless you are independently wealthy or retired, you need to work.  Cleaning, cooking, laundry and other chores take a big bite out of what time we have left. And what is left? A few stolen moments ducked into a closet pounding away softly on a keyboard, trying to convey some deep ponderous shit then getting stuck trying to come up with the perfect word for “Fucking stressed out”, scared as hell that any minute someone will find you and interrupt your train of thought. Ouch! That is painful. To me writing is like flying. Once you are in the zone it becomes effortless. You are like a bird and enjoying the hell out of it and then all of a sudden some person takes a machine gun and innocently shoots you out of the sky. You land on the hard ground with a thud. UGH.

How anyone can do this is beyond me. And so when I say that I have no time to write, believe me.

But I do feel the pressure of time, its heaviness. I feel it ticking away. I feel there are moments forgotten, words not written. I feel there is something lost that I may never get back. And so my fear of crash landing is being overshadowed by my fear of never flying at all.

And so if my work is unpolished, or if I publish a little prematurely, without over considering my word choices trying not to offend anyone or give anyone cause to criticize. Yes, I know that I abuse commas and semicolons. So be it. Life is much too short and I am becoming much too wise to be so stupid as to get hung up on the illusion of perfection.  I am going to write what’s in my heart no matter how light and fluffy or dark and deary I am feeling at the time.

And we only so much time.

That being said, I am stealing a few moments on my day off, cat by my side, back door open to the sounds of traffic and birds. My mind is open to possibilities and opportunities.  I am finding this little break enjoyable and the chickadees seem to agree as the chorus rages on outside.

~SBI

Here I am out adventuring, definitely not writing…

 

 

 

“Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.”

― Cyril Connolly

The Way

The way is winding

it’s direction uncertain

I am on a path meant only for me

and the trick is to know

the way.

Every step is a moment that passes by

the moments that make up my life.

There are triumphant ones in the sun

There are humble and joyous moments

and others which lie in the dark, cold and unforgiving.

They belong solely to myself

I cannot go back

We are made up of what we do

and this is what makes us who we are.

Some of us wear down paths consisting of varying degrees of unease

watching and waiting for that something that never happens…

This way is littered with occasions to lend my heart out

they fall to the forest floor like leaves in the autumn

and sound crunchy under my boots.

 I feel for something I think I’ve lost.

And I think I’ve left something unsaid.

I cannot seem quite to remember

Time flows ahead…I can’t go back

no matter, no matter

I tell myself

The way is winding

and we may find ourselves

at one end only to begin again.

Coming in and out like the tides.

A new river to step into.

A new stream to cross.

Urging me on to the next and the next and the next.

 

~NLM

 

 

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is beauty, admire it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a duty, complete it. Life is a game, play it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is sorrow, overcome it. Life is a song, sing it. Life is a struggle, accept it. Life is a tragedy, confront it. Life is an adventure, dare it. Life is luck, make it. Life is too precious, do not destroy it. Life is life, fight for it.

~Mother Teresa

***

Led Zeppelin – That’s The Way

Mt. Ranier. Washington State, USA.

 

Musings on TIME and other savory things

“How did it get so late so soon?”

― Dr. Seuss

 

We are beholden to time.  It gives whatever fate has determined for us to be a fair measure. It is always there.  It is quiet. It sits like a spider in its web, waiting in a seldom used corner of a dark room…

It can be patient, this time.  At other times, it is as quick as lightning. It can be a soft trickle of water that slowly cuts through rock and stone or the tidal rush of mad ocean that can fill a mighty canyon in minutes.

I see the lines that time has left in my face; places where smiles have once been, crinkles around my eyes, the inevitable forehead furrow that comes from deep thinking. I suppose I have earned these, although knowing that doesn’t take away the feeling I get. It still surprises me when I look into the mirror and a 40-year-old looks back at me when when I still expect that 20-year-old to.  I  look like me but different. I know a hell of a lot more than the 20-year-old did. The sparkle in my eyes are the same–maybe even brighter than when I was younger. I have found one doesn’t have to be under 30 to have a spring in one’s step.

I have been on this planet long enough to witness some time pass. One can see a lot in 44 years of life. It is not nearly enough in my opinion. To me it seems my life is just beginning.  There is so much to do, to experience. I think I am finally starting to catch on.

And while one is figuring it all out..it just sits there dispassionately and ticks.

Ouch. You can’t reason with time. You can’t sweet talk it. It is incorruptible. It stands firm, no negotiating. It goes on and that is that…

…and it demands we deal with our own mortality. Damn that time.

A human lifetime is but a mere blink compared to the age of this planet…or age of the universe for that matter. To think in those spans of time requires one to walk among cold things, unblinking things…things we will never know or understand.

Even I don’t want to know everything.

It is much better to feel everything. Experience everything we can.  Every single damn moment can be an eternity if we enjoy it enough.

And I am off to enjoy those moments…

and savor them slowly.

Like a warm cup of dark coffee on a hopeful sunlit morning

smooth and rich, uplifting…happy.

enjoying each moment fully and then letting go.

Moments like chocolate and hazelnuts

Sweet and inviting. ..alive

🙂

Wishing you happiness my friends,

Strawberryindigo.

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”

― Mother Teresa

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***OTHER STUFF***

TIME by Pink Floyd  (YouTube)

Time Travel; Theories, Paradoxes and Possibilities (space.com)

Shine on you Crazy Diamond

Six Savory Shortbread Recipes to Pair with Soup this Fall (thekitchn.com)

Musings on time. (broganknight.wordpress.com)

On the Wings of Autumn

Credit: SBI

Golden light streams through the window dappling in forgotten but familiar patterns across the wooden table.  It is morning and I am lost in quiet reflection.  An exquisitely woven spiderweb glints in the goldenness,  its proprietor has grown big and fat over the summer. It waits patiently for breakfast to land while I enjoy a hot cup of strong coffee.

The gray squirrels run crazily all over the neighborhood;  Up and down two large and arching chestnut trees, swiftly bounding through the grass looking for the perfect spots to bury their booty.

Credit: SBI

The deeply blue Stellar Jays swoop down, their wings extended. I hear them calling to each other which always seems so urgent to me. The Yoshino cherry tree in the front yard sports three yellow leaves among the green ones.  It seems just yesterday that it was covered in delicate white blossoms. Although the calendar tells me that it is still summer, mother nature is speaking in whispered tones that Autumn is on its way.

Credit: SBI

Later after dinner my daughter and I stroll around the neighborhood. One more time on her “last day of freedom”, she calls it.  Tomorrow is her first day of school. She will be a sophomore. She tells this to the friendly neighbor 3 blocks down while we admire the woman’s velvety red flowers.

My daughter pronounces the word sophomore is such a correct tone, her soft lilting voice emphasizing the “o” sound in the middle. The reddish highlights in her long brown hair shining and flowing in the wind.  We walk along some more, stopping to admire the antics of the busy squirrels and petting a few cats.

A glossy black crow caws at us high atop a wooden telephone pole. It’s as if it has important news it wants to share.  We laugh and move on. Our shadows walking ahead of us.  She delights in the fact that she is now taller than me and we discuss our mutual pet peeve of the misuse of the word “your“.  I marvel how much we are alike and how different the world is from when I was her age.

Credit: SBI

Oh my how time flies. On swift glossy black wings it does, always forging ahead and never looking back, unlike we silly humans who hold to the past too tightly.  It is now dusk, our walk has finished and we have returned home. I silently say goodbye to summer. “Thanks for dropping by old friend, see you next year.” I mouth to myself and slowly close the front door.

Happy September!

♥

Strawberryindigo.

“And that is how change happens. One gesture. One person. One moment at a time.” 

― Libba Bray

**Related articles**

Wake me up when September ends By Green Day (YouTube)

Autumn’s Light (By SBI 9-23-11) (strawberryindigo.wordpress.com)

On the Cusp…. (wordsandphotographs.com)

Woodland Highlights: September (wtcampaigns.wordpress.com)

Autumn Birds, poem by John Clare (silverbirchpress.wordpress.com)

Squirrel Art (heronthereeverywhere.us)

Instant Now

The time is NOW

In this modern world of the instant everything, patience has become quite a commodity. Why wait for anything?  Anything and everything is instantly at your fingertips…the world is at your command…at least it seems that way in this hectic fast paced treadmill we run on.

Hungry for “food”? Zap your meal in the microwave. Hungry for “knowledge”? Look it up online (Wikipedia anyone?)  Hungry for “love”? You can get that too (find your match for “free”) We are all so hungry most of us are obese in the Western world. In the US everything is supersized; the roads, the buildings, the people, our egos…

There is no reason to wait for anything, which is just as well. There is no time in which to wait. No one wants to wait but a little waiting can be a good thing. Waiting builds patience and tolerance. Not having everything we want exactly when we want it, builds character. Idle time gives the mind the opportunity to roam about and explore. Time to oneself can lead to quiet reflection which may perhaps lead to thinking for oneself. This once basic aspect in all of humanity is not as prevalent. We are bombarded with distractions and instant satisfactions all from a limited amount of sources. It is easier and quicker of course more economical to go with the tried and true…life is going at light speed and if you don’t get it together you will quickly be left behind.
Don’t stop and think, hurry along…

Our society does not appreciate slowness, consideration or thoughtfulness.
As circumstances in my life have forced to me to acknowledge and appreciate the concept of free time all the more, I am realising how essential it is to the spirit and well-being to have time to just plain do nothing. This sort of time is a rare commodity for most of us. Somehow many of us must conjure up from seemingly nowhere this mystical magical “free time”…while mostly juggling one obligation for the next, each one taking a chunk of our time….until we run out…

Are we but a cog in the wheel of time?

No wonder we are in such a hurry….
I have watched one minute go by on the microwave. The perfect time for heating up tea or coffee and I’ve noticed as the pace of life speeds up, the longer and longer that short little minute seems.
A minute is a long time….
Ever been put on hold?  Wait in line? Wait at a long red light when you are running late for work?
Given the right perspective, the matter of a few seconds can feel like an eternity.

The Societal concept of patience is slowly eroding. It is a muscle that needs to be exercised. I think a little waiting is good for a person and a little idle time and dare I say boredom, is a concept that needs to be embraced as a positive rather than a negative. When the mind is allowed such time for exploration it can and will go places. These are the times that bring insight and clarification.

I ran across the following quote;

“Why is patience so important?”
“Because it makes us pay attention.”

― Paulo Coelho

When was the last time you stopped to smell the roses?

Or went for an aimless walk? When was the last time you simply did nothing for no reason in particular?

There is something to be said for that…

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~SBI

Related You Tube

Modern Times starring Charlie Chaplin on You Tube

Related articles

• Removing Thoughts of Instant Gratification (growthinrecovery.wordpress.com)
• Instant Gratification vs. Patience (fosterwhitney.wordpress.com)
• Time spent statistics infographic  (infographiclist.com)
• Desire for instant gratification may be hardwired (psychcentral.com)

Busyness

Image via Wikipedia

 What’s the rush?

It seems most people are in a hurry these days, always on the run. A blur of activity. Many practically live out of their cars.  Ferrying themselves and their children from here to there, from work to home, to school, to activities. What’s for dinner is decided in the drive thru of a fast food joint and eaten in the backseat by sleepy children after a much too long day filled to the brim with busy.

There is literally no time. No time for this or that.  No time to talk..”gotta’ go”.  No time to eat, let alone cook a healthy meal. No time to say hello, or good-bye. No time for family or friends, no time to read a book or take a walk.  No time for improvement or creativity. Or fun?  No time for love. No time to stop and smell the roses or appreciate a beautiful sunset.

No time to think, or reason or ask why. No time to see the man behind the curtain.

Time ticks by and every moment; every second is a miracle. It is a gift and most of us, myself included, just plow right through it.  Always in a hurry.   Always a full agenda.  It can’t be helped, you know..I’ve said this to myself.  People have responsibilities.  I’m swimming in them and my life is full.   Sound familiar?

Busyness

How many times have you asked someone how they’ve been doing and your query was answered with “busy”  How many times have you said that?  I know I’ve said that.

It is the correct answer, most of us are busy. With jobs and families and everything else in this ever-changing ever evolving world.  Our society becomes faster paced and more complex.  The bar is set higher and higher and you better run faster and jump higher than the next guy because it’s a jungle out there.

Even when we are not busy, most of us say we are. Idleness is looked down upon. Busyness is related with importance.  An important man is a busy one and his time is more valuable than yours, so you wait.  The poor and insignificant spend a lot of time waiting.

Busy people are needed and wanted.  Busy people are in high demand. It is those that are the movers and the shakers in this world. It is the busy ones that get things done. The busier you are the more important you are and the more valuable your time is.

In Praise of Slowness

There is much to be said for slowness in our fast-paced society.  The fact that  the very concept of “slow” is seen in a negative light shows our need for the benefits that slowness brings.  It’s difficult to see clearly when your life in always in motion. Growth can only come with examination and reflection.

Life is not a road race or a competition. It’s the journey not the destination. Life is meant to be savored. The people in our lives are important, our children are important. You can do more for your child’s development and future success by talking and spending time with them rather than dragging them to a million activities and “enrichment” classes. Time spent together is essential.   Years from now when we are old and running out of it time will any of us look back with rue and regret about how we didn’t spend enough of it at Busyness?

 

Strawberryindigo.

Related articles

• The Paradox of Our Times (ayannanahmias.com)
• 8 Tips for Beating Busyness (tombasson.wordpress.com)