HEAD(hed), (n.) 1. the top part of the human body or the front part of an animal where the eyes, nose, east and mouth are. "Your brain is in your head." DIBS(dibz), (n.) 2. a thick, sweet syrup made in countries of the East, especially the Middle East, from grape juice or dates. [Arabic "debs"]--World Book Dictionary, 1976.
“ And by this time they were come up to the great iron gates in front of the house; and Tom stared through them at the rhododendrons and azaleas, which were all in flower; and then at the house itself, and wondered how many chimneys there were in it, and how long ago it was built, and what was the man’s name that built it, and whether he got much money for his job? These last were very difficult questions to answer. For Harthover had been built at ninety different times, and in nineteen different styles, and looked as if somebody had built a whole street of houses of every imaginable shape, and then stirred them together with a spoon.” —The Water-Babies, by Charles Kingsley. Ch.1 (1863)
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A New "To Do" List
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New year, a fresh start. Thankful for friends and family.
Throughout 2019 I tried an approach that helped my daily routine immensely and I want to share it. What I did was simple.
IF NOTHING PREVENTS ME
Instead of writing "to do" somewhere in my dailies and closing it in a box, I wrote "If Nothing Prevents Me" and left the space open. Instantly I had more flexibility and less stress. By not closing the box did not force me to fill it. And if something did not get done, oh well. I mark it as "IP" (in progress) and move on. At some point later in the day I went back and filled in the space around the list with a journal entry or artwork.
COUNTING THE HOURS
Inspired by Benjamin Franklin, I occasionally number the hours down one side of the page: 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12. At each hour, I wrote in what happened, such as "Wake and day-prep," and "commute" and "Meeting" and "Gym" and even "sleep." This prevented me from making a full-tilt diary but gave some account for how I was using my time. Here is a picture of a page from Benjamin Franklin's journal as a model of what one might write.
One feature I'm integrating this year into my journal dove-tails into the "If Nothing Prevents Me" list. I plan to list "everything in my plate" and from that sort out what is within my control and what is not in my control. From these two categories, I think I should be able to determine what I can delegate, what I don't need to worry about, and what I can realistically accomplish.
FINALLY
My niece found this really cool channel on YouTube called "Chillhop Music" that runs live stream music. Just enough music, just enough beat, and no distraction. One artist called "Sleepy Fish" caught my attention. I'll share this chill instrumental to close things out. Hope there was something helpful here today.
“Keep constant guard over your perceptions, for it is no small thing you are protecting, but your respect, trustworthiness and steadiness, peace of mind, freedom from pain and fear, in a word your freedom. For what would you sell these things?” EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 4.3.6 b –8
Legend has it that the astronomer Ptolemy (1st century A.D.) suggested that falling stars were caused by the gods moving in the heavens, thus knocking stars out of their places. Somehow people reasoned that that if the gods were moving, they must be getting close to earth so they would lift their "prayers" or "wishes" (literally, "desires") whenever they saw the stars falling in hopes the gods would notice and grant a favorable answer. But how does one wish on falling star? Once you see it, it's gone before the wish or prayer can be made! The answer is simple: meteor shower. That's how to get your wish. Mrs. Ann Hodges had a wish fall right into her lap. Sort of. In 1954 Mrs. Hodges was sleeping on the couch when a 8 1/2 pound meteorite fell through her house and into her living room where it bounced off the radio and struck her left hip leaving her with a bruise. Not sure what she was wishing, but that's not how to do it. Epictetus hel...
