I was supposed to write this newsletter last week, so I could get ahead of the inevitable fact that I get behind. The days slipped by. I told myself I’d write on Thursday, then Friday, Saturday, and yesterday (Sunday). Now it’s Monday, and I’m planning to “newslet” (new verb?) tomorrow andā¦why did this take me so long?
Lots of reasons. One of the biggest is that, most days, I move too fast and there’s too much to do. The time it takes to put together this note could be spent checking off twelve things on my never-ending to-do list. I like checking things off! Calling the vet is concrete, a task accomplished. Like most millennial Americans, accomplishing things is how I create value. The math, as I understand it, isĀ value = accomplishment(s) / time.
It can be hard to see around that equation, at least for me. And time is what I always come up against. I want to accomplish the thing now. Actually, I want to haveĀ accomplishedĀ the thingā100 things!āby now, all really big and all really well. What for? Thereās no āendā to this road; once I do the 100 things, Iām already staring down 100 more.
Last week, instead of writing, I walked and napped and luxuriated in (more! seemingly endless!) sun. I read the most delightful book I’ve read in a while and daydreamed about having a big ol’ garden on the coast. I took a short vacation to Orcas Island where I ambled around and thought about what I would write when I eventually did. And look! Here we are, at the end of a second newsletter.
This week, I hope you take your time.Ā Make space for rest, thought, sleep, cooking good meals, being with friends. When you tell yourself,Ā I’ll just finish this last thing and then I’ll take a break:Ā no!Ā stop right then. Take your break. Bask in it.
