Relative Something

*this* John W. Hays' take on things and experiences

Archive for April 3rd, 2024

Everyday Thinking

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Knowing better doesn’t always prevent me from suffering moments of feeling overwhelmed by the mixture of world events I can’t control and my agendas and responsibilities I can control that need attention. I know that if I just stop thinking about the combination of issues and “to-do” list items I could settle my mind with a deep breath and a pleasant thought, but that does nothing toward making progress on issues I need to address.

Not a day goes by free of reports about the narcissistic grifter whose name I resist typing or saying. Do you know how many days have passed since the Republican party adopted him as their shining light? It is very hard to endure while striving to maintain a healthy outlook about the sanctity of truth and justice in the world over such a long duration of daily pounding.

Is it any wonder why I enjoy losing myself in the athletic competitions of spectator sports?

One basic method of dealing with the unrelenting growth of my personal “to-do” list when it starts to weigh on me oppressively is to simply take action on things that just need ‘a trigger pulled’ so to speak. Get them off the list. Just do it.

I’ve asked for quotes from local landscape companies to upgrade the settled soil around the foundation of our house. Out of 4 companies contacted, I received 2 proposals. There were a lot of differences between the two. I left them hanging for a couple of weeks because I couldn’t decide how I wanted to proceed. I told the outfit that recently phoned looking for a decision that I would let them know this week.

Yesterday, I called and turned both companies down. Think of the money we’ll save! A much more rudimentary version of the upgrade might still happen, but I will be providing all the labor and materials.

Cyndie and I made it to our polling station before noon and voted in our local spring election. Knocked those decisions off my list.

I logged into my Medicare account and finally filled out an application for one of the gazillion options lobbying for my attention. Wish that would curtail the inundation of spam texts, emails, and unhelpful snail mail coming my way. There are an amazing number of medical insurance corporations aware of the fact my birth happened almost 65 years ago.

When I notice there are pending decisions beginning to pile up in my already thoroughly cluttered mind, one fix that helps me is to take immediate action on things that I have been putting off. When I know deep down that additional research won’t add anything substantive to a decision I’m already leaning toward, taking action to instantly alleviate the pressure of that task is good therapy.

Then I can sit down to watch the next great moment in sports with a much freer sensibility.

“Oh! They are going to pull the goalie!?”

What were they thinking?

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Written by johnwhays

April 3, 2024 at 6:00 am