Jean and I had a log cabin in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. It was a place we used to get away from the hustle and bustle of big city Albuquerque. Like anything else worthwhile, it required maintenance. Log maintenance required wood preservative.
To apply the preservative we decided to use a sprayer. Spraying the preservative was basically spraying oil in a windstorm, a disgustingly nauseating, but necessary, task.
I wore goggles, carried the heavy, unwieldy and sticky sprayer and covered myself from head to toe to keep the spray off any part of my body. Next I took a deep breath and sprayed for as long as I, or the sprayer, lasted. Then it was time to pump the sprayer, take a deep breath and go at it again.
After a few rounds I realized I needed to step back and take a time out. I needed time to see that the job was coming out the way I wanted.
I asked myself:
"Have I covered everything I want to cover?"
"Is what I'm doing making a difference?"
"Is it OK to move on?"
What about the big "spray job" of life? Might you need to step back, take a time out. Do you need time to see that everything is coming out the way you wanted?
Ask yourself:
"Have I covered everything I want to cover?"
"Is what I'm doing making a difference?"
"Is it OK to move on?"
Lesson: Life, like a log cabin, requires maintenance.
The all-leather, NFL-regulation football, inscribed -- 1963 Chicago Bears
Pertaining to these last three questions:
ReplyDeleteIn comparison to rocks and the drought of Texas, human life is short. Anyway, should one feel they have to have covered everything? This question you have posed nags at me daily. I hope that no one feels regret when reflecting on their day, unless they haven't lived it to the fullest. Personally, I try to do the best I can with the faculties I have been given, and hope that other are satisfied with my words and actions.
Dusty,
DeleteMy apologies I've just discovered the "comments" section. I wonder what else I'm missing and if you will ever get this answer, but here goes.
"should one feel they have to have covered everything?.." Yes. But first you have to define everything. Being retired I still go to bed not having accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish, but a missed accomplishment today may be not getting around to rearranging my sock drawer. Different stages of life we must also rearrange our expectations. If we expect to get 18 hours of work done in a 16 hour awake day we will always be disappointed. Set priorities and do your best.