The Japanese tourists had taken at least 20 snaps in the 20m I had walked toward and past them.
Cars, sky, a guy riding a bike and pretty pink roses. I was amazed at how quick they walked and wondered – had they stopped long enough to smell the roses? Have you stopped long enough to smell the roses lately?
A friend asked when was the last time I’d had a good belly laugh? I paused to think. I had to consciously imagine what that would feel like. I knew at that moment why he asked – to belly laugh you have to be right in the moment – present!
I find lately I’m equating busy-ness with business. Writing this blog is coming easily because 20 minutes ago I put down the Mac and picked up a pen and a jumbo pad – you know, like the ones at school where, so long as you have a nice pen, the newsprint-type paper is so soft to write on.
The last several weeks have flown by. Between trying to run one business, create another, and squeeze in a volunteer role, the minutes have turned to hours, days, nights. You sleep and wake to find you’re back on the conveyor belt the next day. My only real pauses are food and Facebook – the modern day fag.
Germans manage to do more with less. Six-hour workdays or 4-day workweeks are spoken about with pride. What do they do with the extra time? I can’t imagine a German by the beach. Do they even have beaches?
It seems work becomes practice for how to work better and get more disciplined. Are we getting better? When I worked for Marley Plastics, 8 hours went fast! The pipes got made, the gauges read, hoppers refilled, floors swept, dockets written and I still had time to read a hundred pages of the latest self-help book. The job stayed the same but I got more efficient and was rewarded by more reading time. I got paid at the end of the week, went out, came home, relaxed or partied the weekend away and was refreshed, mentally, come Monday.
Running a business, self-employed, from home, can be like quicksand. Sometimes you get bogged down and can never quite get out of it. There’s always something to do, some days you have more energy than others, but you never quite “finish.” But “there’s light at the end of the tunnel” you tell yourself you just have to work harder, be more disciplined, and you’ll get “there.” Where is “there?”
“There” might be those roses the Japanese tourists strode speedily by. “There” might be a good belly laugh. “There” might be where the Germans go during those two hours they got off work. “There” might be “here” – writing this blog – seeing my pen fly across the paper as I get a little excited knowing I’ve finally written a blog. “There” could be the smile stretching across my face. I guess I’m preaching to the converted though because anyone reading this has found the time to do so which may mean “there” for you, is “here.”Good on ya! Take time to smell roses again…
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