Back home again
Time to implement the strategy
When I left Southern California yesterday, it was 74 degrees. Approximately 60 degrees warmer than it is here at home in Illinois this morning.
Here, dingy snow coats the ground (though I did see a flock of robins in the tree outside my window this morning—a sign that spring is coming).
The robins were camera shy, and also, probably wondering why they came north so early.
In California it is spring—bougainvillea and ice plants bloom with flamboyant color. (see photos below) I kept just taking pictures of flowers.
Ice plant grows, ironically, where there is hardly ever ice.
It is good to be home. But not easy.
When we wander, we get a chance to step outside of our normal routine. In visiting my parents, I continue working (I meet with clients via Zoom, write, edit). Mom and I cook together, or sometimes my daughter and I cook together for the family. It’s not a vacation exactly. But it is an escape of sorts. I spend more time outside, wandering the trails near my parents’ home. It was so nice to walk outside without worrying about the weather hurting my face or causing me injury. I walked or hiked several miles each day.
I also took some time to journal, to think. To write out some goals, to strategize about ways to get unstuck. I made lists of things I want to do, conversations I need to have.
That’s easy to do from a distance. But now, I’m home. I have to execute on those well-intentioned plans. That’s much harder than just making lists. Planning is easier than doing. At least it is for me. Because implementation tests the strength of your strategy. To say “I’m going to…” is easy. Doing is harder.
Wandering, as I mentioned last week, provides perspective. It takes you out of your normal context and allows you to examine things from a distance, a helpful practice. So often, our struggles seem larger than they are when we are surrounded by them. If we can step back, we can examine them more objectively. What feels overwhelming close up often loses its power when we step back. As the line from Let It Go reminds us, “It’s funny how some distance makes everything seem small.” (This version is my favorite—I know it’s cheesy. But also magical. Sorry not sorry.)
What things feel overwhelming and big (or maybe just stuck) in your life?
What can you do this week to get some distance from those things? (Even just watching the video above might give you a few minutes of escape!)
What is one thing you want to change?