It’s Always a Good Time for Something
which means it’s never too late to start something new or pick up where you left off. Be Brave.
We’re into the second quarter of the year and some of us take inventory (or whatever you want to call it) if we’re on track with the neatly written notes with our goals in journals or post-its. You know what? Take a look but do NOT despair if you haven’t met those goals. We don’t exist to always do stuff — whatever that stuff is.
Plus, we’re still running the Pandemic Marathon (although I have it from reliable sources — you know, scientists and doctors and other experts in the field, we’re in the last sixth which is also the hardest because we’re tired and just want to stop. ) So, the objective of this post: it’s okay to be sad or bad or lazy or fed up. It is okay. Having said that — no matter how many times we’ve failed in the past, each new day always offers hope.
When you’re ready — go find that hope, that goal, that passion, and go for it. Not too much pity party though, okay? Sometimes, you have to pull out that rod of discipline you’ve got inside of you from ballet classes, or piano lessons, or any routine your parents made you do and, well, do it.
On writing and the discipline of putting pen to paper (symbolically speaking of course because most of us use devices), I must have at least 5000 posts and articles saved (and partially read) about writing. Because, well, I do consider myself a writer even though nobody knows me. Not that being a writer necessarily means being famous but an ‘oh, I know you’ is a dream. Yes, I admit it.
Moving on. The main lesson from all those thousands of advice posts: routine, consistency, work. Bottom on chair. Just write. Or whatever it is you are working toward or working on, you’ve got to keep at it. No waiting for the muses, no lightbulbs. They do come, but they come with the work. It’s pure unadulterated work. Wherever you want to go. Whatever you want to achieve — nothing is easy or a quick fix. Nothing.
For some reason, it’s taken me a very long time to realize this. I blame TV. No. Kidding. But I do wish I’d had someone whisper in my ear that everything on TV is make-believe. Life doesn’t come in neat half-hour or one-hour episodes where the mystery or crime or relationship problem is solved. Nothing new. But, somehow, my subconscious had that ‘this should be easier’ thing buried deep in some brain pocket of mine. Call me naive, a late-bloomer, or lazy but I thought all this would be easier. And because I had awesome parents, I sailed through a large part of my life. Now, I do know: life is hard. Achievements, recognition, anything worth it, are hard.
To get where you want your brain space to be: my advice, based on past failures and past small successes: go with something specific, something realistic, something you can manage and remember. ‘Losing weight’ or ‘exercising more’: that type of resolution is doomed from the start. Way too vague. Way too uninspiring. Go small, go specific. Small is beautiful. Less is more.
I actually am a terrible advice-giver because I figure you must have heard/read/seen it before. But you know what? You aren’t me, everyone picks up different things and maybe the advice I have resonates with someone. And if it helps, that’d make me happy. Even if it’s one person.
I’m sure there are more catchy, clicky titles I could have chosen, promising heaven on Earth. Not my style. Less is more, steady wins the race — so my modus operandi: I am nobody, are you nobody too? Let’s be nobody together. Emily Dickinson. That means specifically: we’re not nobody in the terms of being worthless or unimportant. It just means we’re not famous. Yet. Emily Dickinson’s poem questions the desire for renown, idolization, being famous, leaving a lasting legacy. What I take from her poem: just work quietly, steadily, consistently. Steady wins the race. I can’t deny the desire to leave a legacy. Let’s see how it goes.
I used to have all kinds of diet/weight/exercise-related resolutions and read tons of material on those topics. Yikes. Yet, maybe they did pay off because now I never ever do anything that has to do with superficial beauty. I eat what I want and exercise when I want. You know what? The years of worrying about this and that and weight and skin and hair have paid off in the sense that I’m pretty okay with my routines in that area.
Eating good i.e. healthy food is important. That’s been a given for eons. But something just as important is movement. I look around me and see lots of people (young and old) hunched over, barely able to walk, and I think to myself: nope. No way. I want to walk upright till the day I die. My parents did. And of course, it has a lot to do with genetics, bone density, genes, and all that, but I do know, if you keep moving, and stretching, and working on your posture (strong core: stomach and back) you will walk like a dancer. You can get all the plastics plastic surgery has to offer, but if you move like an old geezer, you won’t be fooling anyone. Besides, what’s wrong with wrinkles? Eternal Youth (which doesn't exist anyways) is movement and mind — a curious mind. Just look at actors like Judy Dench, Anthony Hopkins. They use their brains a lot. Being cool and old? Old and cool? I’m good with that.
Always walk through life as if you have something new to learn and you will ~ Vernon Howard
A suggestion for curious minds: one book a month. Because your brain needs food too. C’mon. A book a month is totally doable.
A recommendation because I’m a history nerd: How to be a Victorian by Ruth Goodman. I’m actually working on my history dissertation ~ however, I have the feeling my wish to time travel won’t be happening anytime soon. But I can read and write about it. Next best thing. And honestly, I would not want to get a toothache or need medical attention if I happen to be minding goats in the year 1393.
