Scattering scatteredness...

Somehow it's Sunday night and I tell myself I need to write a blog. It's not a chore. It's something I like doing. In the whirlwind of life, though, it has, in the past, been left undone. I have determined this will change. 

I had a glimmer of an idea for this blog. The word that comes to mind is serenity. A word that is easy to say, but much much harder, sometimes, to embrace.

While I can be very energetic and devoted to things I love to do, at the same time, I can be very scattered with my energy, and end up going in circles, not achieving much at all. I can make long to-do lists and even cross a few things off while the time for the other things is eaten up with focusing on the less important. Or procrastinating. 

As a creative person, I rebel against schedules and organization yet I know it would help me to better use my time if I kept to them. I have many calls on my time, and at least three calendars I am following on any given day. If I am honest, without my schedules, I am lost. I remember that Bob's at 2pm on Monday but if I actually look at my calendar I will see it's Joe, not Bob, at 1:30pm.

Nothing's more embarrassing than opening your studio door to see that there are two people waiting to see you at the same time. Uh oh.

So, in spite of my resistance, I have my lists and my calendar that is planned weeks in advance, and try not to feel overwhelmed looking at all the things written in for this month and next month and even the month after.

One practice I began a few years back was to put a big 'X' through one day each week and promise to myself that *nothing* would be planned for that day. I don't do that anymore, there's something every day, like it or not. 

So it comes down to dealing with managing your time while at the same time being okay with managing your time, and, most importantly, not getting stressed about it.

Some walk, some do yoga, some jog, some swim, some meditate.. I'm a firm believer in power naps. 

I feel it crucial that we find time for ourselves alone each day. We can't keep giving if we're not replenishing the well. We can't be creative in the time allowed if we're all over the place about what needs to happen next.

Rise early, welcome the sun, breathe the morning air, embrace the peace of the morning for as long as we can. Write our morning pages. Do tai chi. Jog in the park. Sit and drink tea in the garden.