Back to the Basics

My life is in one of those "whirlwind phases" right now.  

My work . . . involves a constant stream of deadlines.  That is just the nature of what I do.  And, generally, everything just moves along.

But every now and then (in February and August, to be specific), those deadlines stack up in a rather frightening and overwhelming manner.  

And then . . . all hell breaks loose!

When life gets over-busy and everything feels under pressure, I need to remember to step back a little and get back to the basics.

Go to yoga.

Knit a few stitches.

Pull a few weeds.

Start the morning with coffee and some poetry.

I Go Down to the Shore

I go down to the shore in the morning
and depending on the hour the waves
are rolling in or moving out,
and I say, oh, I am miserable,
what shall --
what should I do?  And the sea says
in its lovely voice:
Excuse me, I have work to do.

---- Mary Oliver in A Thousand Mornings

And now . . . you'll have to excuse me.  I have work to do!

Comments

[margene]

While I don't have deadlines, my life is a little topsy turvy at the moment, and nature provides a reminder of how small the busyness of my life is, as well as, being a refuge from the mundane madness. Thank you, Kym, for another lovely read of Mary's poem.

[claudia]

What Margene said. :)

[Mary]

ditto! Mary Oliver is a lovely way to start the day!

[Jo]

What a touching post. You have offered aome wonderful guidelines for dealing with stress!

[Carole]

I know what you mean about deadlines and I just met all of mine - thank goodness! I'm counting down the minutes until 4pm!

[Marilyn]

All is good if you can get the basics done and take care of yourself. Hope things slow down a bit soon...you don't want to miss the last of the summer.