The Thinking Place

Few things hold my attention for any great length of time. I tend to flit from one "interesting" idea to another, like a bee in a field of flowers. Instead of bags of pollen, I carry snippets of ideas around, letting them jumble around in my head until they clump together in a new way.

While I do come up with a number of ideas, my lack of focus results in "lots of eggs, but no chickens". I never stay with my ideas long enough to bring them to life.

That said, I have decided that I'm going to set aside a place and time on a regular basis to practice focusing on things I'd like to accomplish.

Tiny steps

Why do I have to continually fight the notion that progress is made only with giant steps?


Most failure sneaks up in barely noticeable increments:

• Just one more bite of dessert. . .
• Too much to do this morning; I'll exercise tonight . . .
• I'll finish this later . . .

Why not aim for success by making barely noticeable changes?

• Take 5 minutes before going to bed to make sure the stuff I need in the morning is ready.
• Instead of going for a doughnut, go for a walk.
• Drink water rather than something else when I'm thirsty.

Moving forward is the objective; consistently moving forward, one tiny step at a time.

This year I'm taking tiny steps forward, and this is one of them.

What I learned from George

Saturday morning we said a tearful goodbye to one of our cats.

His name was George. (He's the one in the middle.)

While we still have several cats, our house is strangely quiet.

George was a talker. The other cats don't seem to be quite as vocal, maybe because they couldn't get a "meow" in edgewise with George around.

He also seemed to know exactly where we were going to step, and made sure he checked the spot so it would be "safe" for us to move there. This, of course, meant that he was usually underfoot, especially in the kitchen.

As I've considered "life with George", I find it comforting to think about the things I learned from him.

George taught me:

* When you want something, ask for it. Continue talking to people until they understand what you want and give it to you, or show you where to get it.

* Know where the things you like are located so you can point them out, if necessary.

* Savor every meal and welcome the company of fellow diners.

* Hugging is a good and necessary part of every day.

* Avoid confrontation if at all possible.

* Spend time in the fresh air every day.

* If you get lost, stop and listen. The information is there, if you are still and quiet.

Farewell, Georgie. You'll always live on in our hearts.