The Next Shiny, Bright, New Thing

 

I took some time to examine why, in this beautiful season of rebirth, life continues to feel overtaxed and complicated. The answer was not difficult for me to see. I barely complete one task and I am already looking ahead to the next. Sometimes I do not even finished with task number one when I begin number two and three and four. I am juggling too many balls. I get it all done, but the joy of the moment is lost in the hustle. Like many of my creative friends, I am distracted by the next, shiny, new thing. The result is a backlog of projects that are forever lined up waiting their turn but never get done because another new project bumps into first place ahead of them. 

No more!

It is time to slow down and smell the beautiful flowers in the yard. It is time to sit with a magazine and slowly contemplate every page. It is time to take all day to bake some bread and then sit on the porch while it rises. It is absolutely time to stop scrolling on my phone, but rather sit and think about things or do a bit of hand sewing while I wait for dinner to bake. It is time to have long conversations with people instead of quick, abbreviated text messages. It is time to paint life with forethought, one careful stroke at a time. No wonder it feels like the days are passing in a blur. I am too busy to notice them!

In the spirit of living up to my desire to slow down, I went into my pile of unfinished projects and began carefully finishing each one. I finally attached the binding to the Christmas tree skirt I pieced back in February. I finished sewing an apron that I started two years ago. (!) And now I am hand quilting a little doll quilt that I pieced a few years back. I am still working on the little quilt and it is giving me great pleasure. I took it out to the porch and sat there to stitch. I enjoyed making the little stitches around each little bit of colorful fabric. I listened to the birds sing and let my mind wander from thought to thought. I stopped to fix lunch for Steve and our son-in-law Daniel, who was here for the weekend. It was a lovely pace for the day.

There is no profound revelation here, just the acknowledgement that I was getting off track and not living each day with the purpose and intent that gave me joy. I am glad I took the time to assess what was making me feel over anxious and irritated. It was just me, getting a little bit lost. I think I have found my right path again. No surprise that it is not in the next shiny, bright, new thing.

Finis!