What a sorrowful and delightful story--and so true of many of us. My new assistant operates exactly like me; rushing from one thing to another, a fantastic number of tasks are completed. But she often arrives home from her myriad rush-filled days tired and out of sorts. Still, we plunge on and see no way out. That's the sorrowful part. The delightful part is the bee interruption or whatever may interrupt this gaggle of activities and take stock. Examine your life; feel the sun on your face. Lift up your heart; say a prayer; empty your mind. Send out a joyous cry that I am alive; still alive. And what a wonder it is. Never to be taken for granted. And ever so grateful; ever so profoundly appreciative. Love you, Mom
I profoundly appreciate your wisdom, Mom ❤️ You’ve got it all right there, the key to life (and lowering stress)—“Examine your life, feel the sun on your face, lift up your heart, say a prayer, empty your mind. Send out a joyous cry that I am alive; still alive. And what a wonder it is.”
Truly, so much wonder in your words! Thank you, thank you 💝
Thank you, Sue. Now, how do we convince Timothy, our beloved son and brother, to stop taking these insanely difficult jobs? I am in a quandary, as I am a beneficiary of his incredible generosity. His daily schedule would be difficult for a 30-year-old. How do we let him see his life as it could be? I repeat for him. Cry out your gratitude for just being alive.
Absolutely love this, the bee intervention (often do this very thing myself as well as air-lifting stranded earth worms back to moist earth), the book suggestions and of course the little snacks concept. (And yes! Libraries rule!) Not only do these small things impact hugely they are *kind* of all we have. I do not believe in "waiting" for that one big thing :) Excellent!
Thank you so very much, Sue! Your comments are so full of wisdom and always mean the world to me. 🥰
Oh yes, escorting stranded earthworms to a safe spot is right up there with bee rescues!
I can’t say enough positives about our local library system, and public libraries in general. Reading books/audiobooks/magazines/newspapers at no cost for patrons is a fraction of what our library does! Programs for kiddos and youth, crafters and gardeners, etc., etc. Media in five different languages, and community meeting spaces about local issues.
Seeing a little kid with their parents, checking out a pile of storybooks makes my heart sing!
It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: We need libraries more than ever! ❤️
I can understand that with your farm, you’re so very busy caring for “all creatures great and small.” The trying is important, don’t you think?
In our neighborhood, with a lake nearby, we have a spring Great Western toad migration, with the tiny little guys are hopping across the main road to the lake. I walk my bike, stepping carefully, but then the cars just rush by, not knowing. 😢
Little snacks are a great way to set goals. Or a big new snack. In recent years, I’ve been chasing the sun in Arizona during the winter. In the process, I’ve rediscovered an absorbing hobby of my youth as an amateur astronomer — and the dark nights of the Arizona desert are a great place for a small telescope. So it’s become a big new snack that changes my focus. Kinda like biking around a little farm in the foothills and interacting with the little critters. Stay with those personal snacks, big and small — Wayne Lutz, Powell River Books
Hello Wayne, what a treat to see you here! Amateur astronomy…how terrific! And surely it’s the biggest snack of all, to ponder the limitless stars.
So winters in AZ!! That’s quite the contrast from your seaside home, but what splendid skywatching/startgazing! My daughter has been traveling through the Southwest, including AZ. Her photos are filled with the endless sky, you can see horizon to horizon. Here, with the firs growing taller each year, our night sky keeps shrinking!
Thank you so much for your support, Wayne, and I’m sending all my best wishes for your books 😊 And I hope you too keep up with your big and small snacks!
Thank you for the free read! I don’t have Kobo but will investigate. I am always trying ideas similar to your ‘snacks’ method, and enjoyed the new Oliver Burkeman. I like the idea of doing time-based rather than outcome based stuff, though that’s not always successful. But I have realised that 30 mins each yoga/reading fiction/cuddling dog is a recipe for a successful day. Have you read the new Curtis S? I really loved them
I’m so grateful to Amie McNee for the “snacks” idea—she is brilliant! After reading Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks, I’m really looking forward to his “Meditations” book, though so many insights in FTW has made my head spin a bit! But in a good way 😊
I remember you had raved about Curtis’ latest! After enjoying her novel so enormously, I will definitely look for her new one.
I love your idea of a successful day—now, if I can only put it into practice regularly: getting satisfaction from doing a few of the things that make me happy (instead of my default, regretting the things I didn’t get done)!!
Just what I needed (always need). My mother says I came out of the womb being busy. They didn't have the heart to push me at anything because I was always pushing myself. They knew how to have down time, but I never picked up the skill. ;) I'm happy for the baby steps and little things approach when I can remember to do it. One of my issues is that I surround myself with other busy people and then start feeling guilty for not running myself into the ground the way they do. Aimee is a great inspiration. I have her book on my shelf but haven't had time to read it yet--since I'm so busy.
Little bites. Everything to like about this and am noting in my journal.
The idea of taking little bites or small steps reduces the load in one's mind, doesn't it.
And as for saving small things, 'snap'. You'll see.
This week for me it was a bee, a moth and a ladybird - creatures of the wild. It always gives me a quiet thrill when I think that they might get to have one more wonderful day. Beautiful post.
Adrienne, this is wonderful! I had to smile, reading that you surround yourself with other busy people then feel guilty you don’t do as much as they do. Although I have two Type-A parents, I am so luch that my husband is a low-stress person who doesn’t believe in pushing too hard.
How great, that you found Amie too! The Substack posts I’ve read of hers…brutally honest while hilarious too. I chuckled to see that you’ve been too busy to read her book, lol!
Prue, thank you so much! Even if I borrowed the concept of “little snacks/small bites,” it still means so much that this idea helped you!
So true—thinking of a task, and instead of feeling like it’s got to be done, finished, all that, I try to tell myself I can just work on it for a little while. Instant de-stress!
Saving little creatures brings so much joy, I agree. Even when it doesn’t always work—the time I moved an injured hummingbird off the road and it died anyway—trying still felt important, that I was able to connect with the little bird for a few minutes, then mourn for it.
What a sorrowful and delightful story--and so true of many of us. My new assistant operates exactly like me; rushing from one thing to another, a fantastic number of tasks are completed. But she often arrives home from her myriad rush-filled days tired and out of sorts. Still, we plunge on and see no way out. That's the sorrowful part. The delightful part is the bee interruption or whatever may interrupt this gaggle of activities and take stock. Examine your life; feel the sun on your face. Lift up your heart; say a prayer; empty your mind. Send out a joyous cry that I am alive; still alive. And what a wonder it is. Never to be taken for granted. And ever so grateful; ever so profoundly appreciative. Love you, Mom
I profoundly appreciate your wisdom, Mom ❤️ You’ve got it all right there, the key to life (and lowering stress)—“Examine your life, feel the sun on your face, lift up your heart, say a prayer, empty your mind. Send out a joyous cry that I am alive; still alive. And what a wonder it is.”
Truly, so much wonder in your words! Thank you, thank you 💝
Thank you, Sue. Now, how do we convince Timothy, our beloved son and brother, to stop taking these insanely difficult jobs? I am in a quandary, as I am a beneficiary of his incredible generosity. His daily schedule would be difficult for a 30-year-old. How do we let him see his life as it could be? I repeat for him. Cry out your gratitude for just being alive.
Absolutely love this, the bee intervention (often do this very thing myself as well as air-lifting stranded earth worms back to moist earth), the book suggestions and of course the little snacks concept. (And yes! Libraries rule!) Not only do these small things impact hugely they are *kind* of all we have. I do not believe in "waiting" for that one big thing :) Excellent!
Thank you so very much, Sue! Your comments are so full of wisdom and always mean the world to me. 🥰
Oh yes, escorting stranded earthworms to a safe spot is right up there with bee rescues!
I can’t say enough positives about our local library system, and public libraries in general. Reading books/audiobooks/magazines/newspapers at no cost for patrons is a fraction of what our library does! Programs for kiddos and youth, crafters and gardeners, etc., etc. Media in five different languages, and community meeting spaces about local issues.
Seeing a little kid with their parents, checking out a pile of storybooks makes my heart sing!
It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: We need libraries more than ever! ❤️
air lifting worms! Love it. I hate it when it rains and there are so many in the road. I can only do so much--but there I go again being busy.
I can understand that with your farm, you’re so very busy caring for “all creatures great and small.” The trying is important, don’t you think?
In our neighborhood, with a lake nearby, we have a spring Great Western toad migration, with the tiny little guys are hopping across the main road to the lake. I walk my bike, stepping carefully, but then the cars just rush by, not knowing. 😢
We have a road nearby where turtles cross and some dear person puts up signs warning people to slow down. It’s so heartening
That is so very wonderful! I love hearing about the dear people in the world 😊
Little snacks are a great way to set goals. Or a big new snack. In recent years, I’ve been chasing the sun in Arizona during the winter. In the process, I’ve rediscovered an absorbing hobby of my youth as an amateur astronomer — and the dark nights of the Arizona desert are a great place for a small telescope. So it’s become a big new snack that changes my focus. Kinda like biking around a little farm in the foothills and interacting with the little critters. Stay with those personal snacks, big and small — Wayne Lutz, Powell River Books
Hello Wayne, what a treat to see you here! Amateur astronomy…how terrific! And surely it’s the biggest snack of all, to ponder the limitless stars.
So winters in AZ!! That’s quite the contrast from your seaside home, but what splendid skywatching/startgazing! My daughter has been traveling through the Southwest, including AZ. Her photos are filled with the endless sky, you can see horizon to horizon. Here, with the firs growing taller each year, our night sky keeps shrinking!
Thank you so much for your support, Wayne, and I’m sending all my best wishes for your books 😊 And I hope you too keep up with your big and small snacks!
Thank you for the free read! I don’t have Kobo but will investigate. I am always trying ideas similar to your ‘snacks’ method, and enjoyed the new Oliver Burkeman. I like the idea of doing time-based rather than outcome based stuff, though that’s not always successful. But I have realised that 30 mins each yoga/reading fiction/cuddling dog is a recipe for a successful day. Have you read the new Curtis S? I really loved them
I’m so grateful to Amie McNee for the “snacks” idea—she is brilliant! After reading Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks, I’m really looking forward to his “Meditations” book, though so many insights in FTW has made my head spin a bit! But in a good way 😊
I remember you had raved about Curtis’ latest! After enjoying her novel so enormously, I will definitely look for her new one.
I love your idea of a successful day—now, if I can only put it into practice regularly: getting satisfaction from doing a few of the things that make me happy (instead of my default, regretting the things I didn’t get done)!!
Thank *you* for mentioning my book!
Just what I needed (always need). My mother says I came out of the womb being busy. They didn't have the heart to push me at anything because I was always pushing myself. They knew how to have down time, but I never picked up the skill. ;) I'm happy for the baby steps and little things approach when I can remember to do it. One of my issues is that I surround myself with other busy people and then start feeling guilty for not running myself into the ground the way they do. Aimee is a great inspiration. I have her book on my shelf but haven't had time to read it yet--since I'm so busy.
Little bites. Everything to like about this and am noting in my journal.
The idea of taking little bites or small steps reduces the load in one's mind, doesn't it.
And as for saving small things, 'snap'. You'll see.
This week for me it was a bee, a moth and a ladybird - creatures of the wild. It always gives me a quiet thrill when I think that they might get to have one more wonderful day. Beautiful post.
Adrienne, this is wonderful! I had to smile, reading that you surround yourself with other busy people then feel guilty you don’t do as much as they do. Although I have two Type-A parents, I am so luch that my husband is a low-stress person who doesn’t believe in pushing too hard.
How great, that you found Amie too! The Substack posts I’ve read of hers…brutally honest while hilarious too. I chuckled to see that you’ve been too busy to read her book, lol!
Oops, that’s “lucky”! Thank you again for the wonderful comments 😊
Prue, thank you so much! Even if I borrowed the concept of “little snacks/small bites,” it still means so much that this idea helped you!
So true—thinking of a task, and instead of feeling like it’s got to be done, finished, all that, I try to tell myself I can just work on it for a little while. Instant de-stress!
Saving little creatures brings so much joy, I agree. Even when it doesn’t always work—the time I moved an injured hummingbird off the road and it died anyway—trying still felt important, that I was able to connect with the little bird for a few minutes, then mourn for it.
I’m so glad you’re here.