The Calm before the Storm

My life, always filled with tasks and to-do lists that challenge my time and patience, both while toiling at my day job as well as following my bliss with all of my other passions, is about to get even busier.

Perhaps more fulfilling is a better way to express this.  Because, after all, I always practice and sometimes preach the constant need to find fulfillment in ones life—the vital importance of making each day as worthwhile as possible.

That’s why, as I sit here on my back deck, serenaded by my fountain mixing its bubbling melody with the call of the wilderness—birds singing, squirrels scurrying, deer gracefully meandering through the tall grass, dogs barking and echoing through the ridge—I force myself to take a moment.  And a breath.  Ahhhh…

Sunday morning, one of my favorite moments of my week.  Sipping green tea, catching up on my reading, plucking some tunes out of my guitar, far removed from my tasks and to-do list as I can possibly be.  Yet their burden—and the wealth of challenges and enjoyment associated with them—still slither through my tranquility, demanding attention, as they are wont to do.

What to do?

One of my favorite Zen sayings is:

                        “If it’s not paradoxical, it’s not true.”

So while I embrace all this relaxation and serenity, the constant itch of activity still scratches at the back of my psyche.  I understand that this is the calm before the storm of work and things-to-do awaiting me, and with that understanding comes the need to wrap myself around this calm to its fullest. While also preparing for the flurry of forecasted fireworks ahead.

Without getting into too much detail, my plate at my day job continues to overflow…with a promise of even more in the days and weeks ahead.  I’m ready, planning.  Taking it one hour, one day, one week at a time.  Focusing on keeping my balance between mind, body, and spirit in check and in shape. On top of that, trying to keep my head above water with the constant challenge of juggling a fulltime career with a part-time website…make that two websites.

Call that the second half of the storm after the calm—in the coming weeks and months I will be revealing the new livelife365 video site, a self-help book, a new song and music video (in the editing room getting polished as I write this), and lots more.

Do I sometimes feel like there is way too much on my plate, that I have bitten off more than I can chew, that I am grabbing a bit too much of life by the…ah…lapels?  Yes.  The key, though, is to focus on one task at a time, stay in the moment, worry about what you can control and not what you cannot, and prioritize, plan, pray, all the while practicing a plethora of patience…and those are just the “P”s!

Until next time…

peace,

Mike