You Can’t Have Just One

I’ve been struggling a bit recently to pack everything I want to do in to each day. Play a bit of music, read a book, take some pictures, find some geocaches, do some yoga, or get in to any number of other distractions.  Ironically, blogging about it is one of those things too. After working an eight-plus hour day, trying to find the time to do the things I really want to do is pretty challenging. I can’t decide if I’m being overly compulsive and, in doing so, am watering down all these experiences. Maybe, being aware of my increasing age, I’m trying to make up for a lot of wasted time. I suppose as long as I’m enjoying what I’m doing, and getting some sort of benefit from it, I should just embrace the busy-ness. It certainly doesn’t leave much room for procrastination.

Patience

Sometimes you just have to be patient. You put some seeds in the ground and, hopefully, with some weeding and some water, something pretty or delicious will come up. Most of the time, that’s how we deal with our jobs and relationships too. We evaluate the circumstances, negotiate challenges, adjust boundaries, change our approach and, in doing so, we can improve our relationships and improve our careers. Sometimes it takes a bit of patience to see what needs to be done, do a bit of pruning and watering, and wait for the rewards to blossom.

No Straight Lines

I got back from a three week vacation today and spent a good chunk of the morning cleaning up emails and gaining clarity on some issues. One particular issue that came up was interesting in that one of my senior coworkers and our boss seem to have two exactly opposite ideas about how a particular technical problem would be resolved. And yet they thought they were on the same page and that I would be investigating the issue based on their (entirely different) idea of the problem. Fortunately, I have a third possible solution that may avoid sorting out that tangle altogether. It is a good reminder, though, to not make too many assumptions as even in a simple three-way conversation things can get mighty confused.

It’s the Little Things

I need to pay more attention to the little things. As I head back to work after three weeks vacation, the little things are on my mind a lot. There have been loads of little things over vacation that have made me take pause and think about how great life is. Moments of time with fine people, beauty in nature, music, laughter, a child’s smile, a grand sunset, a tiny flower. And yet, I’m also aware that the little things, the daily worries, the small tempting low-hanging fruit in work, can distract me from focusing on the important big jobs. Those big jobs are often technical but the most important is self-care. So I’m going to try to pay attention to the small things; to see the good stuff wherever possible and to be aware when small things are getting in my way.

(It is the little things that can hurt you – the picture here is the tiny flower of deadly nightshade)

Why Don’t I Get It?

I’ve got a pretty sweet job by most measures. Everyone tells me so; great salary, I can work anywhere as long as I have internet, no commute, loads of independence. And yet I’m dreading going back to work in a few days. So I need to keep this in mind. Loads of people would love to have the kind of job I have. It is mostly up to me to do the work to make it interesting and enjoyable by setting good boundaries, learning to say no as appropriate, asking for help when needed, having a plan for doing the big interesting jobs instead of always picking the low-hanging fruit, and letting go of the belief that all responsibility lands on my shoulders. On the other hand, maybe I do “get it” – I just have to act accordingly.

If We Could All Just Relax

We had a great time out wakeboarding and surfing today and I posted a few pictures from the adventure on Facebook. The kids look great of course, but one of the adults didn’t like the pictures so I quickly took them down. Looking at them, she looks great; she’s clearly skilled and she’s having a lot of fun. So it is kind of too bad because somewhere inside she’s being hard on herself for something that the rest of the world wouldn’t perceive. Then again, the pictures of me make me look, well, fatter, than I perceive myself. If only all of us could just relax and have fun the word would be a happier place.

(I chose to post the picture of feet because it was kind of cool in an anonymous way)

Unexpected Gifts

You just never know when something really special will come along. I’d had a rather unsettled day, after a lot of heat, it was a chilly breezy day. So I was feeling scattered and unmotivated. I finally got up the gumption to go geocaching and called up a neighbour to come along. This doe and fawn were in their yard when I arrived to pick them up. Fortunately I often carry my DSLR with me wherever I go, just in case. I managed to shut off the car, roll down the window, keep the dog quiet (a miracle in itself) and change the macro lens off for the telephoto without scaring the deer away. And then, just as I was getting to a point where I could see them clearly through the window, this pose happened. Great light, great alignment, and a beautiful picture of a really special moment. And the take home message is that as long as you are open to it, you never know when something amazingly magical will cross your path. You just have to keep an eye open for it.

You Can’t Change the Wind

As a sailor, I’ve always loved that adage that says, “You can’t change the wind, but you can adjust the sails”. It is a great reminder to be let go of things you can’t control. I went out today to begin teaching one of our teens how to sail – it looked like a nice day. We got the Laser mostly set up and then the wind came up and dumped me into the lake while I was putting the boom on. We had a good laugh about that. We decided to leave the boat at the dock to see if the wind would pass but when we came out shortly afterwards, the wind had ripped a sizeable hole in the sail, losing one of the battens¹ to the lake in the process. That was it for sailing today. But I thought it provided a good addendum to the saying; Sometimes the wind will throw you around so much all you can do is pick the bits up off the bottom of the lake, learn to sew, and hang tight for a more pleasant day.

 

1. The batten is a flat stick that is placed horizontally in a pocket in the sail to give it some rigidity and, thus, better performance. You can kind of see in the picture that the rip ran along the batten pocket which allowed it to fall in to the water.

Why Read?

I had an interesting conversation with a friend today who noticed I’m reading Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin. She felt that it was a “school book”; something you might read because you had to read it as a school assignment. It grieves me that we’ve come to this place where writing as lavish and powerful as Atwood’s has been relegated to the domain of high school students, grudgingly grinding through pages of prose that they haven’t enough experience to truly appreciate. It is sad, because I don’t think anything quite compares to reading for exercising the mind, challenging assumptions, and exploring new ideas. I hope some kids are still reading for pleasure and I hope some will come to discover the wonder of these works over time.

A Loony Thought

I went out for a really long stand-up paddle board ride today and spent almost two and a half hours paddling around the lake. For about fifteen minutes I was in the company of a pair of loons. They were busy hunting but weren’t too distressed about me being within three meters or so of them. It was a pretty sweet moment in time – just me, the water, and a couple of really special birds. I’m pretty lucky to have those moments. But it seems rather odd, crazy even, that I save them all up for the brief time on vacation. This is the path to finding balance; I don’t need to take a five mile paddle, but how do I create fifteen minutes of tranquility a couple times a day, every day?

(The picture is not of today’s loons. I took it another time from the safety of a canoe. I fell off the SUP board three times today, I’m not loony enough to take my camera with me)