nlowell

nlowell, 3 months ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

I've taken to cleaning up one thing every day.

Sometimes that just means tossing out something that's taking up space.

I'm working on clearing a corner of my desk. Clearing off the cables, adapters, loose post-its, and dust.

Sure, I could do it in an hour if I made an effort, but a little bit here and there will do it.

It's a good reminder that repeated incremental improvements matter.

I hope you can make your life just a little bit better #today

nlowell, 8 months ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

My ADHD throws a tantrum every so often.

Nothing works.
The scaffolding collapses.
Days disappear in a hyperfocus haze

But I've learned the storm passes. The tantrum peters out. New structures appear. Old ones get repaired.

I need to dig in, plant my feet. Take a few deep breaths. Pick up the balls. Start again.

It might not work today but it can't work if I don't try.

I hope you find the focus you need to start again #today

nlowell, 9 months ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

My juggling of mind, body, and spirit has been out of kilter this week.

It happens periodically. Sometimes in times of stress. Sometimes out of the blue.

In the past, I'd tense up. Try to brute force it.

It seldom worked. It only led to exhaustion.

Now? I just let it be.

My boat is self-righting if I only give it a chance. It might be a little soggy for a time, but it always comes back.

I hope you find solace in just letting it be #today

nlowell, 9 months ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

My juggling still consists more of picking up drops than tossing and catching.

A bit demoralizing, but long history tells me it will pass. I've been here before.

I just need to be patient and keep picking up the balls every morning.

It won't come back together all at once. Just small improvements over time until it's working again.

I just need to pick up the balls again each day.

I hope you can find the patience you need to continue #today

nlowell, 5 months ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

What do I want to do?

You'd think that after 70+ years, I'd have an answer.

Over the decades, I've had several but like the seasons, they've changed.

I used to think in terms of years and months. I never counted on decades.

Now? I focus on the day. At my age I can't count on waking tomorrow.

But really nothing has changed except the realization the I never could so I need to make today count.

Somehow. In some way.

I hope you make your day count #today

nlowell, 8 months ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

Juggling mind, body, and spirit - once so easily done, so effortlessly handed off, toss to catch for days on end - has become an immense chore made up of equal parts failure, despair, and self-doubt.

Maybe I should just quit.

Find a new path, a new metaphor.

Or maybe just take a few deep breaths and appreciate how far my juggling has taken me this year.

Consider how much further it might go.

I hope you find some inspiration for your own journey #today

nlowell, 8 months ago to random

A new day, a new chance to succeed.

Success today means something different than most days, I think.

The long series of "drop and pickup" doesn't seem like such a burden today.

Partly because I've had to take a deep breath or two, step back, and just stop to ask:

Why has juggle become struggle?
Why has writing become work instead of art?

The answer to the first question appears in the second.

I hope you find answers to some of your questions #today

nlowell, 8 months ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

My ongoing quest to juggle mind, body, and spirit - to be mindful of the day - keeps bumping into a universe that seems to be conspiring against me.

A fresh perspective this morning has me thinking the problem is not the pattern of the universe.

With a bunch of tasks to juggle today, perhaps I need to appreciate what the day brings instead of what I want it to be.

I hope you can find a refreshing perspective #today

nlowell, 8 months ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

After a fraught week, I'll lay the bean bags and juggling clubs aside for a day.

I still have some chores to attend. Groceries to acquire. Meals to prepare. Bread to bake.

Surrendering to the routine is a balm in itself. Comforting familiar. Satisfying at a core level.

A day to settle into a new base comprised of solid support and little else to fret over.

I hope you can find a day of peace in your life #today

nlowell, 7 months ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

By some measures, I'm old.

At 71, I'm aware that most of my life is behind me. That the numbered days ahead are few.

My regrets center on wishing I'd known better. Wishing I'd acted better.

I made some good choices, too. Did some hard things.

Mostly I credit luck.

I didn't always get caught acting out. Long shots sometimes paid off.

But my path brought me here. I can't help but wonder where it will take me next.

I hope you are lucky #today

nlowell, 6 months ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

My morning walk suffers in the cold weather. The treadmill lacks the same ambience as a stroll outside.

Even if it's on a concrete sidewalk instead of a forest path.

The sun will be up in another hour. I'll be into my second cup of coffee by then.

Perhaps I'll choose to brave the cold.

Perhaps not.

It's good to have choices.

Especially ones that aren't life threatening.

I hope you have some low stakes, but satisfying, choices to make #today

nlowell, 3 months ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

This morning I'm reminded of a story about a boy, a beach covered with starfish, and a man who told the boy he wasted his time by throwing the starfish back into the water. Since he couldn't help them all, his efforts didn't matter.

I get it.

That overwhelming feeling that there's just too much to do. That none of it matters. I can't fix the world.

But I can help a little. Maybe.

"It mattered to that one."

I hope you can give a little help #today

nlowell, 27 days ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

Funny word, succeed.

I've had the work/goal orientation on it almost all my life.

Early on it was "get good grades" and later on it was "stay out of Vietnam."

For decades following, it meant keeping my bank account in positive numbers while not starving.

Then "more words" and "next book" and ...

Always chasing something.

Then cancer and everything changed.

Now, success is another day just being.

I hope you find your success #today

nlowell, 3 months ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

My brain is on tumble dry lately. Shiny, delicate ideas rolling around in there, flashing past the window so fast it's hard to see any of them clearly.

It's not a bad thing.

After a long period of slumber, perhaps I'm waking up again.

Learning something new has me looking at old things with fresh eyes. Invigorating old skills with the delight of a beginner's mind.

I hope you can find something new and delightful in your life #today

nlowell, 3 months ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

Time to buckle up and lean in.

I've got words to write, stories to tell. Things I want to get done.

This should be a good day to start that.

Sure, yesterday might have been better. May as well say last month for all the good it does.

Tomorrow? Probably work on something I've already started.

I'll deal with that tomorrow.

But with a bit of effort, I can make a difference right now.

I hope you find a way to make a difference in your life #today

nlowell, 3 months ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

Ray Bradbury advised writers to write a short story every week for a year. His rationale? Nobody can write 52 bad stories in a row.

Ira Glass has a good video series on storytelling explaining how everybody starts with a gap between what they envision and what they can do.

Early on it's just practice. Eventually that practice produces something good.

Those who succeed are those who can keep practicing.

I hope you keep practicing #today

nlowell, 2 months ago to random

#fountainpen

I'm striking out on identifying this nib. It looks really familiar but I can't place it.

It's on a fiber(?) bodied pen that looks a lot like a Metropolitan but with an almost solid fin for a clip.

Any insights out there?

nlowell, 3 months ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

Thanks to a comment from a friend, I'm meditating on the differences between streak and momentum.

Don't break the streak has some power behind it but carries a fatal flaw.

Eventually it will break. The counter resets to zero.

The boulder rolls all the way down the hill.

Again.

Momentum, on the other hand, is movement. Cumulative. Sometimes forward. Sometimes not.

But always there. Even when stopped.

I hope you add to your momentum #today

nlowell, 2 months ago to random

A new day. Another chance to succeed.

At the moment I have no pressing household chores. No outside obligations. Just the normal maintenance of mind and body.

With all the darkness out there, it's a good day to shine some light in my little corner.

Darkness will always be there as night follows day, but I think I'll hold a candle against the dark.

If only for a moment.

Because this moment is the only one I have.

I hope you find some light in your day #today

nlowell, 2 months ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

One step at a time.

That's the challenge.

Taking the next step on the longest path.

Finding stories along the way, each with their own beginning and end. Some happy, some not.

Some just tedious, sapping the will.

Others joyously uplifting, speeding us on the way.

But the stories aren't the path. They're only the things that happen around it.

There's always another story waiting ahead.

Another step.

I hope you take another step on your path #today

nlowell, 1 month ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

Today's an errand day. Grocery run this morning. Taxi this afternoon. Tedious but necessary.

I just need to find the opportunities to find joy in them.

Perhaps adding a treat from the store to enjoy later with the fam. Taking the time to talk with my passenger as we make a long trip into town and back.

Maybe just enjoying the open road and a day out of the house.

Simple things matter.

I hope you're able to enjoy some simple things #today

nlowell, 1 month ago to random

Pro-tip: If all you do here is post links to what you've done someplace else, you're missing the point. Once you've spent all your social capital, you disappear from view.

As Hugh McLeod points out about the Eclipsolypse, meaning happens in the looking, not the finding.

"...it’s not the eclipse that matters, it’s the social interaction around it that matters."

https://www.gapingvoid.com/eclipsed-by-meaning/

#SelfPubishing

nlowell, 1 month ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

Time to bake some bread again. We're almost out. It's a habit I've gotten into over the last few months.

While the ingredients are few, common, and relatively cheap, the value doesn't lie in the cost in time or money.

The satisfaction I get from making and eating our daily bread continues to repay me in ways I didn't expect

I need to teach my kids. It's a legacy that can linger when I'm gone.

I hope you find satisfaction in your efforts #today

nlowell, 1 month ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

Sun's up on a gray, laundry looking day. One of those where you wake to the reminder of the things you forgot and will have to spend at least part of the day catching up.

Still, there's time. My ambitions are few.

Write a few words. Read a few.

Did I mention laundry?

A couple of long cycles broken up by a few minutes of concrete accomplishment resulting in fresh clothes for a couple of weeks.

I hope you find comfort in your accomplishments #today

nlowell, 3 months ago to random

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

Another day to wrestle distraction demons. To make time to do some of all the important things along with the necessary.

Then there are the fun things.

My new hobby has me chasing squirrels, unable to focus on my creative work.

It also has me trying to slow down, to break unproductive cycles, and to be more meditative - more deliberate.

There's a lesson here, if I can only learn it.

I hope you can learn the lessons you need #today