A Sense of Urgency
The difference between a productive day and a non-productive day is a sense of urgency. Today was a good day.
In Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg’s classic collection of meditations on finding the writer within, she has an essay on talking and listening with friends as a means of bringing stories to life. She says, …
One must not think ill of the paradox, for the paradox is the passion of thought, and the thinker without paradox is like the lover without passion: a mediocre fellow.
— Søren Kierkegaard, from Philosophical Fragments
At one point in my life I was formally studying philosophy. Not coincidentally, I was also struggling deeply with various aspects of Christianity and religion. Kierkegaard became a hero. He was a troubled soul who was as prolific at journaling as I was, and who shared many of the same intellectual struggles I was contemplating.
I have always relished the paradox. …
I love it when I meet people who understand winter, as in the only way to thrive during winter is to take it head on, get out in it. Dress warm and get outside. If you are cold, dress warmer, get moving.
— Jeff Smith, editor, Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine
I’m a northern girl. I was born and raised in an environment whose seasons were punctuated by the first frost and the spring thaw … and the highlight of the year was the day the ice broke on the river.
The secret to happiness in these “harsh” environments is to meet them head on. Dress warm and get outside. Do not let the weather control your emotions or your happiness. If you are cold, dress warmer, get moving.
But isn’t life itself a harsh environment? Life is hard. The secret to happiness is the same. Embrace it. Meet it head on. Get out in it. Dress warm. If you are cold, dress warmer, get moving.
Books must be read as deliberately and reservedly as they are written.
— Henry David Thoreau, Walden
I have always been a deliberate reader. When I stumbled across this quote while reading Walden so many years ago, it simply gave me permission to enjoy the pace at which I read. Good writing is more than just conveying ideas or recounting a story. Good writing creates a mood, and images, and evokes emotions — and these cannot be digested while speed reading.
One of my favorite writers is Pat Conroy, and my favorite book of his is Prince of Tides. When I read this poetic prose I am drawn in to the rich and colorful images Conroy is able to create. Every sentence feels like a sculpture carefully crafted.
Choose your rut carefully, you’ll be in it for the next 50 miles.
— Highway sign
According to folklore, the above sign was spotted on the Alaskan highway. Or perhaps it was posted along the highways in the 20’s and 30’s, before blacktop became prevalent. Regardless of the source, it has served as an apt metaphor many times in my life.
Each day we are faced with thousands of decisions: what to have for breakfast, what to wear, when to work out, how much time to spend surfing my RSS feeds. Most decisions have very short-term implications and can be corrected if errant.
Occasionally decisions arise that have much longer-term implications: whether or not to take that new job, move to that new city, attend a certain college or purchase a particular car. In these cases, deliberation pays dividends. When I find myself facing such decisions I classify them with the “Choose your rut carefully” label. It may not be the most glamorous metaphor but it helps me take the time I need to make solid decisions.
When it comes to land mass, Canada is slightly larger than the US — 3.9 million square miles in Canada vs 3.8 million for the US..
But when it comes to population and the economy, the is US much bigger. Consider this: