Back to the Basics
08/14/2014
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!
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.
Posted by: margene | 08/14/2014 at 08:39 AM
What Margene said. :)
Posted by: claudia | 08/14/2014 at 08:46 AM
ditto! Mary Oliver is a lovely way to start the day!
Posted by: Mary | 08/14/2014 at 08:51 AM
What a touching post. You have offered aome wonderful guidelines for dealing with stress!
Posted by: Jo | 08/14/2014 at 11:23 AM
I know what you mean about deadlines and I just met all of mine - thank goodness! I'm counting down the minutes until 4pm!
Posted by: Carole | 08/14/2014 at 02:31 PM
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.
Posted by: Marilyn | 08/14/2014 at 02:33 PM