Choose...

"It doesn't matter what you didn't accomplish. It doesn't matter that you haven't looked at your goal for over a month or abandoned it like a piece of fruit in the back of the refrigerator and it has now grown spores. Choose again today."

Tama J. Kieves

Reading this makes me feel a little better. Today I was overwhelmed with my to-do list and all the different areas in my life I'm trying to accomplish things in. When I feel like this. it reminds me of a book called "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamont ( I think the title came from Anne's brother had a report to do on birds and didn't know where to start and she said to him, bird by bird. You can probable google the exact story). I can accomplish each task, one at a time and love myself for each thing done and forgive myself for those I abandoned. I can choose again today.

Next Step...

"Things started to shift when I made the commitment to find direction in my moment-to-moment experience. the big picture was way too nebulous, but I realized that in each moment there was a kernel of truth, a clarity, a "yes" that showed me my next step."

When the big picture seems to overwhelming, I can scale it back and just look at what's in my present moment. Then comes small moments of clarity to show me my next step. It's still scary, but it's like  the time I was trying to cross a bridge that was ( what felt like to me) a little unstable and rickety, a friend walked behind me and encouraged me and was there for me to accomplish what felt like it was "un-doable." But taking one small step at a time, I crossed that bridge!

Resist...

I'm trying to quiet my mind today because it feels like it's going in a thousand different directions. I have so many things I'm trying to keep track of, big decisions to make, and "to do's" to accomplish. All I really want to do today is forget them all and just go away where there is no pressure other people to consider and just relax. But since that is not possible at this present moment, I will go with the flow and not resist... because what I resist ~ persists!

Habit...

"They"say it takes a consistent amount of time ( a little different for each person) to form new habits. As I was doing my yoga this morning, I thought, I think this is finally becoming somewhat of a habit. I don't know how long I've been doing it because when I use to keep tract, all that did was make me feel bad about all the times I wasn't accomplishing it, so now I just "do it." There are more things I would like to form habits to in my life, like ~ more writing and working on my business. I will give myself a pat on the back for writing on my personal blog ( A Present Moment) consistently, so now it's up and onward to new habit's that will enrich my life!

Sugar...

Sugar makes my brain foggy. I'm trying to be productive today since I don't have a lot scheduled but I can't seem to really get anything done. I keep wandering around doing "things" but not really what I want to get accomplished. Of course my brain is so foggy I'm not sure what it is I'm trying to get done! Sugar is not just in sweets, I made sweet and sour pork stir fry last night and just the sugar in the sauce did me in. My body is very sensitive to sugar and even if I take a charcoal to absorb it, it doesn't help my brain function the next morning. But yet I choose to eat sugar anyway. I make much better decisions about eating sugar then I use to be, but it's still hard. Sugar is everywhere and SO tempting!

Focus...

This is where my mind is right now - at the beach! It's not where it needs to be but it is! Focus ~ Focus ~ Focus is the mantra I'm saying to myself. Sometimes - okay most of the time, when I have a lot of things I'm trying to accomplish my mind goes elsewhere. Today I'm trying to bring my mind back into focus and work on my tasks at hand. Oh but that beach chair looks so inviting... Focus Nancy, Focus!

Inspiration...

See... it's never to late to accomplish-anything!!!

Man Who Learned to Read at 91, Writes a Book at 98

For 91 years, James Henry, a lifelong fisherman, did not know how to read and write and carried the shame of not being able to order from a menu.

It had been his life's ambition to read.

Now 98, the Connecticut captain has achieved that, and more, penning a memoir of short stories about his life at sea.

After nearly a year of tutoring, the captain from Mystic began writing stories by hand on a yellow legal pad.

From those short stories, the memoir "A Fisherman's Language" was born.