Today's Phrase was lifted from one of my favorite blogs, Lisa's Chaos. Lisa ... Lisa takes the most detailed, textured, exquisite macro photos! She constantly inspires me.
She recently celebrated her fourth year as a blogger, and talked a bit about the journey. The above quotation is from February 24, 2009 where she shared about her journey through cancer. Being on a journey that centers on the quest for my purpose in life, I appreciate dipping into the lives of others that seek a similar path.
What I appreciate about Lisa is the way she pays attention to the details. I like that. My dad used to always say, "The devil's in the details." To me, that means that as good as the overall vision of a project might be, the thing won't get done if you don't pay attention to the details.
Being a very detail-oriented person, I find that I often get very self-critical if some of the details of my projects are off kilter. So when my "project" is my quest for my purpose in life, I tend to get really hard on myself when I think I'm messing up those details.
My sweet husband, a man who dwells in the big picture, often reminds me to take a step back and get some distance vision. Yesterday, he encouraged me to refrain from making my usual long To Do List, and to focus instead on three tasks. Then, when those tasks were done, to take real satisfaction in doing them. This is in direct opposition to my usual method of taking the long list, doing more than half of it, and then kicking myself for the the things that didn't get crossed off.
So, yesterday I had only three goals:
- Get an early start to my day, but just putz through the regular chores.
- Eat a slab-o-meat for lunch to replenish my iron (I've been feeling a bit run down).
- Go through the box of my mom's needlework projects that has been sitting in my studio since she died over a decade ago and figure out what to do the old projects.
The second was simple, too, except that it involved grocery shopping. But once I got started, the shopping and putting groceries away was a smooth ride. And I managed to cook the slab-o-meat just right. Boy, was it tasty!
The last task was ... emotionally draining. But I approached it with a sense of purpose and determination. Once the sorting began, I was in my element. I like making order out of chaos. Once I could examine each of her embroideries as a 'project' (something she did to keep her hands busy) instead of as an 'emotional connection' (a potential family heirloom), the decisions on what to do with the pieces became much easier.
It took about two-and-a-half hours to get to the bottom of the box. I threw some away. Gave some to a charity. Kept a few to finish up that can be used to make items for my charity group, and decided that I'll share a few with my blog readers. So over the next weeks, I plan to have some give-aways.
By the end of the day, I was able to take satisfaction in a day well lived.
I've had enough bumpy roads on my journey of the last year-and-a-half to last me a while. Yesterday was a smooth stretch. I'd like to ride along here for a while.
2 comments:
You totally had me in tears! I never thought I would be quoted by anyone. :) My muse is temporarily on hiatus and I sure am trying to coax her out. THANK YOU!
Sounds like a satisfying day, even though hard. Much accomplished.
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