September 23, 2011 ~ Day 288 A Project

I have a really close friend on pregnancy bed rest right now.

Her experience reminds me so well how awful it is to be stuck in bed for weeks on end with nothing physical to take your mind off of all of the errant thoughts flitting around in your crazed, exhausted brain.

I know how this feels, because it happened to me 2 years ago. It sucks.

It really isn't normal to be stuck in bed for weeks or months, especially when you have small children and a husband who need you.

I was trying to think of something that might help my friend bear the long, long hours and it occurred to me that a project might be nice.

In fact, projects - for many reasons - are quite lovely. Bed rest or not.

I am reminded that there are many other ways to be stuck too. Many other situations in which having a project to focus on can be a real lifeline.
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A person can be stuck in their life. Stuck in a rut. Stuck on the couch.

Stuck behind the computer screen!

I'm guilty of the latter...

I spend far too much time stuck here behind the computer, and far too little out working on creating interesting, concrete things with my hands.

* * *

My dear friend may crave a project. I'll definitely ask her.

I'm realizing though, that I need a project too!

Not that my day-to-days are dull or spiritless. There are certainly a million things I need to be doing at every single moment.

(In fact sometimes I have so much to do, just thinking about the endless nature of my list shuts me down a bit. I find myself zoning out just because I don't know where to begin.)

'To Do' lists are NOT the same as having a project though.

For example, my "To Do" list might read:

Make dinner

but that isn't really a project. It sounds more like a chore.

A project would be:

Create an organic, gluten free lasagna from scratch
Bake a pumpkin pie from a real pumpkin
Plant a vegetable patch in the back yard
Knit a sweater
Organize all of the family photos


I would like a project!


Maybe what makes a project so special is that it transcends the minutia of RIGHT NOW.

It takes shape within your vision of the future!

(A better future, in which you and your family are seated around the common hearth loving every bite of the world-changing lasagna you have created with organic ingredients, using your own clean hands.)

Projects represent higher order thinking; the ability to conceptualize a complete product or event which does not yet exist, then commit yourself to bringing your inspiration into actuality.

They're like dreams you can hope one day to hold in your hand!

* * *

Have I mentioned this, though?

Projects require focused attention. I think I could really use some of that.

The truth? My brain has been heavily impacted over the past ten years by email and online social media.

Like many people in the age of Facebook, I have become accustomed to thinking about multiple things at once: a friend's birthday, someone's baby announcement, prayer requests, and photos/news/music which brighten my day but fill it with "chatter".

Sometimes I wonder if I have actually forgotten how to focus intently on any one thing for a real length of time.

When I was younger I could sit and read a book for 12 hours, getting up only to use the bathroom and get food.

Lately I have trouble reading an article without myriad thoughts and plans interjecting themselves between each and every sentence.

This isn't something I'm proud of. I don't feel great about the fact that half-way through changing a diaper my mind begins to wander toward the keyboard, wondering what my friends are up to around the world as I sit in the bathroom singing to my kid.

I would like to rebuild my ability to remain fully focused and attuned in the present moment. I want to be fully committed to HERE and NOW.

So, this seems like a great time, the perfect time! for a new project.

Something juicy! Something fun. Something that will make me feel good when I think about it. Something that requires no computers and preferably gets me outside of the house.

(I suppose one could argue that I am already juggling many projects concurrently right now: raising 3 kids, writing this blog, building a tutoring company, getting myself healthy again... but somehow I have the feeling that another small but vibrant project could really bring a lot of joy into my busy, chaotic days!)

So it's a deal.
I'm excited. I wonder what my new project will be!