Creature Comforts, or, the Danger of Distractions

I’ve got to be careful to do what I decide. I make lists, and at my bedside, I make promises to get round to this or that unfinished project. Yes, I really must get on…and in the midst of that, there are meals to prepare, exercise to do, fresh air to relish and people to be kind to. I love all that. I adore social media, blogging, looking at Wikimedia Commons and generally browsing through my day. I also still play the occasional game of mah jong….and so it goes.

Often, I sit uncomfortably and am not really working, though. Remembering to check lots of websites and maybe drop in on my Twitter account is distracting, and evades the truth that I really would just love to get on: I want to write a series of blog posts; I would like to read and review that book; I would love to sit for an hour’s silent meditation; I would enjoy writing my next article, and actually have the courage to finish it (!) and send it away (!!!); and there is a book outline just waiting to be written up.

Distractions are delightful, sometimes. But I know that the edgy, dissatisfied frippery of a wasted wet morning is not productive and should be avoided. As the days pass, that kind of waste is unlikely to achieve very much, and ultimately can ruin my more meaningful ambitions. Real, deep rest, genuine laughter, a delicious meal, the nourishment of a good book and strenuous exercise or a challenge set to and completed – all these are very worthwhile. I can achieve these by first doing what I would most enjoy, then do the next thing I most enjoy, and then the next…. Why do we resist our happiness?

I went away for two nights. I needed a rest, admitted it, and organised it. In the end, it was very easy to do, and a truly lovely space away from the usual frameworks I have become beholden to. I assume these are inevitable and become lethargic behind them. With some space and time to do nothing, I rested well and wrote a bit. Two days of real rest were most productive and helpful. Compare that with deciding that, ‘Well, I won’t go away because I have too much to do and it costs and I am supposed to stay home….’ I specialise in these kinds of mental disagreements but, they achieve very little.

We can rest, properly, which is deliciously refreshing and gets us a step further down the right road. We can laugh properly, which lifts us up. We can set down and write properly, which is satisfying, fulfilling and peaceful, and carries us a few more steps along the road. So, we stop wasting time skimming the surface and making excuses for a sort of half-baked laziness. How wonderful to have the courage to do what we most enjoy. How delightful to learn that living in discipline with our true intentions

 is productive, energising and helps us towards our next goal, steadying our hand and determination for the next challenge.

Skydive, Miami