What is the difference between someone who makes it through life and someone who sails through life? One is a creative person because it takes creativity to make it in these days, and one is a creator, not just being creative but creating their own reality into what they desire.
What's that got to do with freedom and family? What if you were to take your dreams and create them in the real world? How would that affect your family? Would you like to have those dreams come true? We aren't Cinderellas to have a Prince Charming come sweep us off our feet. If you're looking for a hero, the best one for you, look in the mirror. There's no one better!
How many seeds of ideas rattle about in your brain and heart? How many would you like to plant and nurture this year? It doesn't matter how small or large the seed or harvest is. What matters is the action and the will of doing it.
My goal this year is to plant a few of those seeds myself. I've made a list of what is reasonable and easy (because it's better when it's easy!). The easier it is to complete, the sooner the next seed can be planted. The more seeds I plant, the more successes I have. The more successes I have, the more confidence I gain and the more momentum I carry forward with. It's not about motivation...it's all about momentum!
How do we get through each day whether we will or no? Momentum. We get up, have our coffee, get our food, out the door to work/school/shopping...whatever is the requirement of the day. How do we do that when we really just want to go back to bed on a cold rainy day and sleep? Momentum. The impetus that pushes us forward on autopilot. Some say autopilot is a bad thing. I say it's a tool and everyone should use it. If we get up enough momentum, we can be like a freight train. If you've set the tracks on the goal you desire and the path you wish to take, why not blaze through if the terrain is just not pretty enough to warrant looking around? Once you've got the momentum, you can feel free to look around you. It's easy to regain when you have that many successes to build on.
Here's some of what I'm doing:
1) Organizing my home. We have spent several years moving about finding the balance between affordable housing, work/school and appropriate community. This means that before we got to finish unpacking in one place, we were often packing again. Also, since affordable housing in this day and age is hard to come by, we've downsized our space a lot. By not fully unpacking, there's lots that hasn't been sorted thoroughly. We've now been in this place for over a year and it's working out at the moment. It's time to really sort through these last bits and get the pile of boxes organized and gone. This will mean some reorganization, some recycling and some creative sorting and placement. We might need more shelves since li'l miss (who's 17 months) thinks anything small enough to fit in her hand should be on the floor. I want to really declutter.
2) Balcony garden. I've had a desire to grow my own food, certainly this is possible. There are tons of sites showing the balcony gardens supplementing food and flavour for families all over. I've a friend who has been composting and growing his own veggies in his backyard for years, so we've made a deal. I take him my compostables and he gives me back composting as I need it. He's also helped me with some ideas of how to organize the planters for maximum efficiency. Which means remembering to plant the perenials in something that is relatively permanent...he's made me promise not to bring in the oregano, thyme and chives again...oops! As for planters, I'm not going to buy those expensive planters. See, part of the reason for the home clearing is to empty the totes. They'll make perfect planters! And then I can't use them for storage of unnecessary stuff. I'm also going to buy a huge garbage can and grow potatoes. My friend got me on to this idea. If you plant a couple seed potatoes into such a bin with only 6-8" of dirt, as the sprouts comes up, you pile more dirt around them. Keep doing this until it comes closer to the top and then let them leaf and flower. The root system will have grown all through the can to create a huge bunch of potatoes! We also have metal railings for training up beans and peas. I'll have the greenest balcony in the building! This should be fun and show the kids how to grow our own food. Our goal in the long term is to get a hobby farm, so this is a nice lead in.
These seem like really big tasks and big changes. But these are dreams of mine I have put off over and over. It is time to put action and will to words. It is time to make it happen. Not only do the kids need a routine, but so do I. If I make sure of at least one area getting a once over each day, I'll have it done in no time. I will give myself time to rest and have fun, but I will also make myself work for it. I did this for my eating habits so I know I can do this for my time management. If I want to have a sit down at the computer, I must complete one major task for health and home first. Same for my eating habits. If I want a piece of cake, I have to eat a healthy meal first. I have that momentum going now. Now I'll build on it.
I will go from merely creative to creator, day by day, step by step. You try it!
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