Week 11, Friday, December 19, Delisting Lists—I’m figuring out a marketing campaign for 30 Perfect Days, the book. The blog was the first step. Reviews on Amazon have been overwhelmingly rewarding—the book’s worth is right there. But the marketing is one of those things that I talk about on Day 11, one of those tasks on my list that can bring an entire day down. On Day 11, Delisting Lists, I chose a quote from Carol Orsborn, who wrote in her book Enough is Enough “Busy, busy, busy we pass the days of our lives—gone all too soon. Gone before we get to our dreams of creative expression, self-fulfillment, nurturing.” I asked why our lists of things to do matter so much. To-do lists are based on fear, and what I really want, with my book at least, is for it to grow organically, for people to buy it because they come across it and it looks interesting. Most of the time, I should focus on what my soul needs; I just need to do one of the things I like best—writing. When I came up with my Absolutes, they did NOT include tasks from my to-do list.
Tag Archives | enlightenment
30 Perfect Days Log 10 — Nesting at Home
Week 10, Friday, December 12—On Day 10, I nested at home, I got off the tiger for a day. Maybe that’s all we need is a day or a week of vacation, but I still felt the tug to give it all up and begin anew. I was lying in wait for answers by spending time on what I love. I began with writing, for balance, calmness, and preparation. I read Hemingway because his words are true and real and no-nonsense. Paul and I shopped for daffodil and tulip bulbs and bought a carving pumpkin and Halloween candy after our daily walk. The sky was that vibrant blue of fall that only happens when the leaves provide a red and orange contrast. We sat on the deck, watched and listened. I inventoried the house, picked up stray socks and magazines, sorted mail and newspapers, made my home mine again. We celebrated Sweetest Day with a bottle of Finger Lakes Hunt Club wine. As the day came to a close, I remembered that being “home” is not just about being in the space, it’s about taking care of the base camp before going out into the war zone again.
30 Perfect Days Log 9 — Riding the Tiger
W
eek 9, Saturday, December 6—There’s a Chinese proverb that says “He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount.” We may give a lot of lip service to wanting a simple life, but in reality, we’re afraid to dismount and change direction. We have all kinds of reasons for not starting over or leaving everything we know behind, yet we know we created a life of obligations that has become burdensome. How do we confront that fear? In Umberto Eco’s The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, a man who lost his memory tries to tie together fragmented pieces of his childhood, but it remains disjointed, even as he makes connections. During my Perfect Days project, my own meandering and complex journey seemed disjointed, and I tried to put together the pieces that were my father’s illness, the pace of work, social obligations, marriage, home, and family, and I knew that no one else who put me on that tiger’s back. I was afraid to give up my lifestyle, yet my life was a whirling dervish kind of ride. More in the book . . .