Really? Is that Important? + Bagpipe Boogie + Your Morning Smile

Good Morning from Prince Edward Island,  

4:48 and a flick of the switch and the wiggle of a mouse, I am staring at a blank screen. 

The cursor is blinking and I blink right back at it. I think it is trying to send me a message telling me to say something, anything. 

So…

How are you today? No, really…

I don't know how you feel but 2020 has been a wild and wacky roller coaster ride. Hasn’t it?  So much thrown at our psyches. 

And here we are at the end of another decade. 

When I think about the last decade and the last year, a dog chasing its tail came to mind. I am not sure how a dog feels, but when it finally stops chasing its tail, is it dizzy or was that just plain fun?  

Perhaps a bit of both. 

Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing and too much of a bad thing can be a sad thing.  

Perhaps Covid by default has hit the pause button allowing some reality to set in.  Whether dog or a human what is essential after chasing our tails is focus. 

Essentialism by Greg McKeown was and still is one of my favourite books of the last decade. 

Essentialism as a way of thinking and acting is relevant to the way we lead our lives at home, work, in community and play.

There are times when my brain waves model what a ball of yarn looks like after three kittens have gotten hold of it. 

Greg McKeown writes, "We can all purge our lives of the nonessential and embrace the way of the Essentialist—in our own ways, and in our own time, and on our own scale. We can all live a life not just of simplicity but of high contribution and meaning. 

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

So how can we discard the routines that keep us locked in nonessential habits and replace them with routines that make executing essentials almost effortless?

The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. ~ Proverbs 21:5

Poverty is usually associated with one's financial status. But for me it can also mean having a lack of well being. Poverty in spirit, lacking joy, purpose, focus or balance. 

In his book, the author states, "Many of our nonessential routines are deep and emotional. They have been formed in the furnace of some strong emotions. The idea that we can just snap our fingers and replace them with a new one is naive. Learning essential new skills is never easy. But once we master them and make them automatic we have won an enormous victory, because the skill remains with us for the rest of our lives. The same is true with routines. Once they are in place they are gifts that keep on giving"

Progress is the power of small wins every day doing something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow. ~ Doug Firebaugh

Greg’s book and others of this ilk like Atomic Habits by James Clear, The One Thing by Gary Keller and Gary Papasan, Tiny Habits, Small Changes That Changes Everything, by BJ Fogg, PhD., have helped at different times to untangle the thinking.

All of these books are top of mind with 2021 marching towards me. Not thinking of resolutions I am more about seeking revelations. What can I do to inch, bump or jump forward. 

“There are going to be people in your life who change your trajectory. They’re going to walk into your life for a moment, a lifetime, or anytime in between. And they’re going to disrupt something in your life. They’ll challenge you, they’ll shake your beliefs, they’ll trigger you and then stand by you as you work through your healing. These people will teach you and be taught by you. You’ll dance and play. You’ll see the softer sides that others don’t get to see. They’ll lay down markers on your life’s timeline. Markers that roar “I was here”. Pre me. Post me. They’re the life changers. The good type of change. Not the one that takes you away from yourself… but the one that brings you home. “ — Vienna Pharaon

Here is an example of someone being totally themselves, I love the energy!!!

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” – Dolly Parton

Earlier this week, my polymath friend, Peter Rukavina who has a passion for ‘letterpress’ took an idea from fruition with hours. The story here.

I was a fortunate one of 19 who managed to purchase in time a piece of his art. It arrived yesterday. Thank you, Peter. 

Today, I have been listening a variety of piano artists but I must admit, I have this sound playing in the background, and I replayed it three times. 

Thank you for your time today and allowing to be with you. Also, to those who write comments in the blog, thank you for your notes of encouragement. I wish the blog platform would allow me to respond to you directly in the blog, and I am working on trying to find a solution. 

Wishing you a wonder-full weekend. 

With love from Prince Edward Island, 

Bruce & Millie

ps. Your Morning Smile

This morning I saw a neighbor talking to her cat. It was obvious she thought her cat understood her.

I came into my house and told my dog... we laughed a lot.