I'd Rather Do Something Else...

I make plans.  I have a To Do list.  I am armed and ready.  This shall be a classic week where I accomplish most (if not all) my plans.  Yuppers...until...

I. Get. Distracted.

Which happens ALL the time!  Is this just me?  Please, please, tell me not!

I could blame it on menopause brain or growing older, except that it's been my problem since grade school.  Examples:  "Barbara would do so much better in her schoolwork if she wasn't so easily distracted."  " Barbara lacks focus and concentration, therefore not fulfilling her potential."

Hmmm...it seems this has been a lifelong habit.  And I do say, habit because when I NEED to focus I have the tenacity to drive people crazy!

I hate it!  I hate the fact, that I almost always wait until a crisis or at the very least, a "have to" before I'll buckle down and get the job done.

I know there is an actual disorder called ADD aka Attention Deficit Disorder. But this isn't me...nope...I suffer from IRDSE aka I'd Rather Do Something Else.  I do believe there are true cases of ADD among us and I genuinely feel empathy for these folks.  However...

I wonder how many kids and adults actually suffer from IRDSE?  In the case of children (and some adults) it may be more likely a case of IRBP aka I'd Rather Be Playing... 

Yes, indeedy...

I use distraction as an excuse to procrastinate!

How pathetic is that??  It's a wonder I get anything done!  Or maybe it's a matter of opinion?  Hmmm...

Nevertheless, I would like to make the promise to avoid distractions and focus, focus, focus!  But, I'd have to be confined to a 4x4 foot cell with nothing, nada, zippo in there to distract me because I am an expert, I mean a REAL EXPERT at finding distractions.  I could write a book about it except...

IRDSE!!

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Ta Ta!

My theories...Hmmm...

I had my mind on a most inspired post for the past few days, but was unable to get it written.  Well...
I should have jotted down the gist of it because, guess what?  It's gone, zippo, vanished, departed somewhere into the nether lands of blogging ideas!  But, not to despair for I am still full of innocuous bits of wisdom (???).

I have a theory about this winter of 2013/14...  While the snow piles up and up and up I'm reminded of the winters I experienced as a kid, where huge drifts created temporary toboggan runs and it was possible to make elaborate snow forts and the world was a winter wonderland that lasted until at least, April.  Winter was winter!  The seasons were very distinct and yes, I grew up on the Alberta prairies, not the Arctic!

Sadly, over that past few decades, so-called global warming (fodder for another blog) has seen less and less snow in winter, too warm temperatures and seasons that just kinda blurred into each other.  Without getting into the controversy about climate change; here is my theory...

What if...due to heightened awareness of the impact our carbon footprint leaves on the planet and the strides taken (or enforced) that have caused many of us to reduce pollution is actually starting to work?

What if... the reason this winter and even the mighty rains of Spring 2013 are in fact, the earth trying to heal herself?

What if... our efforts are beginning to pay off and we're returning to the well-defined separation of seasons, instead of schizo weather patterns that create +20C in January and -5 C July?  Time will tell...Hmmmm...

And then there is Miley...

Whasup???  Miley fully dressed and fairly low-keyed for New York's 2014 celebration?  I actually enjoyed her performance except for the tongue thang...but even that was somewhat restrained.  I have a thought...oh oh

Maybe Miley Cryus isn't the twerking, blonde bimbo one might think she is...

Maybe, just maybe, she is quite brilliant...(don't shoot me!!)

What if she pushed the shock envelope knowingly, destroying all Hannah Montana images, while flabbergasting everyone with her antics and new personification, thus creating worldwide attention?  I mean, she even stole the show at the AMA's from Lady Gaga and her human horse, not an easy feat!

Perhaps, this blonde dynamo realized that in order to produce a buzz, she'd have to go to extremes to shock, start controversy and upstage her peers?  And now...that she has succeeded perhaps, the more controlled New Years bash will set the stage for a less contentious Miley in 2014?  Time will tell...Hmmmm...

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Tha..tha..that's all Folks!

One Word...

It's that time of year when we make new resolutions, commitments to improve our life's and ourselves.  We begin with high motivation; resolved to do better, be better.  But usually by mid-February these promises begin to fizzle...if not earlier.  So, this year I decided not to make any fleeting resolutions that only make me feel like a failure...again.  No, this year, I've decided to entrust just one word to changing.

Not two words, not a phrase, just one word...

I read about this concept shortly before Christmas and thought, "Yea, I can do this, sure I can."  The inspiration behind the idea was that resolutions, albeit an excellent idea, just don't work out for most folks.  And since I'm "most folks", I agreed that year after year I have made and broken the same old resolutions again and again.

The article explained that in prayerful meditation, we ask to be guided to the one word that God would have us focus on throughout 2014.  How would I know which word was the one?  The article said, it would be much like falling into true love...it would simply feel right...resonate in my spirit.

Many words came to me at first; words like organize, write, health and exercise.  The usual array of practical words that fill a resolution.  None of them felt right.  So, I refocused on less practical and more spiritual expressions such as love, harmony, peace and faith.  Ditto for still not feeling right, so...

What to do? What to do?

I did what any reasonable, red-blooded gal would do...I decided it was all poppycock and gave up! Then...

finally, after I got out of the way, God could have his say...

Out of the blue, not even thinking about that so-called inspiring article, a word popped into my head and would not be denied.  Glory...one word!

Glory?  What the heck was I to do with this?  Glory?  Surely it must be glorify?  I can do something with glorify.  Glorify God...glorify others...glorify the planet...  But glorify wasn't the one word, it was GLORY!  (my, my God must shake his head at me!)

Okay, okay... but what's the big deal?  Glory, glorify... what's the difference?

But, there is a difference.  Bringing glory is more about what we do to honour or value what we glorify.  It is a subtle difference, but distinct.  I bring glory to God, family, friends, country, etc., by glorifying them through my actions.  In other words, on a practical note, I bring glory to my community by speaking praises to others about it.  I bring glory to my friends by keeping their confidences.  We bring glory (noun) so we can glorify (verb).

I struggled somewhat with the small difference; it is easily confusticated... however I finally saw why God insisted on my one word to remain glory...

This year is not meant for merely paying lip service to glorifying whatever is meaningful to me, but actually doing the work to show it.  Anyone, including myself, can claim to glorify, but making the effort to show it is a commitment.

It would seem, then, glory is my one word for 2014.  It feels right. It resonates in my spirit. So, how can I best glorify my family, my God, my friends, my work, myself everyday?   It will require reflection, prayer, staying in the moment... It will be a great challenge, but the article claimed that our one word will change us, refine us and make us better people.  And...

isn't that what New Year resolutions are suppose to do?

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Until we meet again...