Someday I will...

Most people try to make resolutions on January 1^st. I am not a fan of the practice. I used to be like “most people”, and unfortunately that means that I was really like most people and broke the resolutions almost as easily as I made them.

So now, I resolve to not resolve. If I happen to break that resolution...

I’ve been thinking a lot about New Year’s resolutions, about why people make them, why they break them, and why pick January 1^st. I *get* that people choose January 1^st to start a new better way of living because we are starting a new calendar, a new and untarnished year, but, consider the following:

A new year does not have to start on January 1^st.

We start a new year of life on whatever day of the (calendar) year we were born. For me that would be September 16^th. I could start better habits that day. Then there are other cultural new years. We just had the Chinese New Year. (It’s now the Year of the Dragon…in case you hadn’t heard.) Many religions honor a new year on different days. Schools use a different year. Remember? Start in late summer and get off again in early summer.

You can start your “new better way of living” year any day you want to. You can start today. You can start tomorrow. You can start next week and again next month. You can start every day.

Why not start every day with a new resolve, rather than every year with a new resolution.

How many people say “I’ll do *something* someday”? (Fill in that blank with whatever *something* is for you.) What if you keep saying that? Day after day, year after year…We only get so many days in a lifetime. Maybe it’s time to stop talking about doing *something someday* and start DOING it. If it’s something that you need to make preparations for (save money, learn a skill, etc.) then start making those preparations. Put aside some money. Learn that skill. Gather materials.

Live your life. Don’t wait for the elusive “someday”. Someday is now.

Habit, Habit, Who's Got the Habit?

New habits are hard to create. Sometimes it feels like getting a new habit to be a habit (rather than just a plan of action) is one of the hardest things to do, especially a good habit. It can be even harder than stopping a bad one. I wonder if it would be easier to start a bad habit. hhhhmmmmm…

The habit I am aiming for is right here. I want to develop the habit of writing on a daily basis. It is easy enough to do. It just isn’t a habit yet. It’s still just a plan of action. I think about it a lot. I have a lot of time to think in my commute, but when I arrive at a place where I can transform those thoughts and plans into actions…well…I get distracted by other things that have higher priority, and then I forget about all the great ideas and plans I came up with in the car. I don’t completely forget them. I remember them again when I can’t do anything about them; while driving, at the grocery store, in the middle of the night. Those places and times are ideal for executing the plan, if by that I mean “kill” the plan. If I want to execute the plan as in “implement, complete, fulfill” etc., then those are not the best of times to be remembering.

In my last blog I talked about NaPlWriMo. Yeah. Well, those ten pages I was so pleased with…that’s all I have. I kept forgetting to do more, plus I was busy and distracted by more important things. What could be more important than my writing goals? Family visiting from far away, work, sleep, breathing…lots of things.

To be fair to myself, I do write every day. I write about things that matter to me. I write about important things. I also write the things I have to write for work and whatever things might need written for home…like grocery lists and to-do lists. But work-writing, keeping up with friends and family via email and social media, and reminder lists do not count as the kind of writing I mean when I say that I want to do on a daily basis.

I have “real” writing that I need to get back to. There are several unfinished plays, as well as a few that could use some polishing. I started a BIG project way back in high school and I really want to finish it. I’ve completely re-written and revised the parts of it that I have done over the years…my characters call and talk to me all the time…when I’m driving, or at the store, or asleep, or in the middle of something else that I can’t stop. That is the kind of writing I mean. And poetry. I don’t write poetry on purpose, but it attacks at will, and I have to let it out.

Poetry is the one kind of writing that I cannot put off. I keep paper and writing tools in the car…just in case. I don’t recommend writing while driving. I also don’t recommend photography while driving. That doesn’t mean that I never do either one. You can check out some of the things I’ve captured by pure luck.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.247820683199.172656.605003199&type=1&l=ba6b2dd454
I might use my camera in the car, but I don’t take time to focus or even aim. I see something I like and I point the camera in that general direction and click. Sometimes I get great pictures. Sometimes I get the dashboard or some other close up of the car. I don’t post those anywhere, but I do keep them as proof of my method. I write poetry in the car in much the same way. I scribble the words on a notebook, and sometimes by the time I can pull over or park I can still remember them. My handwriting for notes is hard enough to read when I am looking at it. It’s amazing that I can decipher the driving notes at all. Usually I can’t.

I really need to find time to write each day. It is important to me. Time. We never get enough, at least I don’t. I spend 8 hours a day at work, 3 hours in the car getting there and home again. I need to sleep. There are everyday life things that I have to do at home…and then I am tired, and sleepy.

Time. If anyone knows where I can get more time when I am able to be productive, please let me know. I have some other habits I’d like to develop, too. I think it is important to get the habits going now, rather than waiting for New Year's resolution time. Resolutions are easy to break. Habits, if developed the right way, become part of who we are not, just something that we do.

I am open for suggestions...how do you develop good habits? Or, should I just give up and start up a few bad ones?

Peer Pressure = The Library Made Me Do It

Well, maybe not exactly. The library is not my peer.

The library is a building, made from the usual building materials. You know the kind, bricks, concrete, wood, plaster, windows, doors, plumbing, wiring...etc. It could be anything. But, it is filled with books, movies, magazines, and a myriad of other media...all there waiting to be read, borrowed, and otherwise used. For free.

Yes, free. Hopefully libraries can stay free and available for communities to use and enjoy. Not only are they full of all those great books (and some boring ones, too) they also offer many wonderful programs for the people of all ages in their communities. Most libraries offer story time for little ones, many offer a variety of reading clubs/groups for those who like to read and discuss certain types of books. My library offers a writers' group for writers or people are interested in becoming writers. We meet twice a month to offer each other support, suggestions and constructive criticism. We also have fun.

It is good to be able to meet with people who share the love of words. Even though what we write varies drastically, the need TO write brings us together. Some write science fiction, others fantasy. Some write poetry others create personal journals to share their life story with their friends and family. Some write plays or draw cartoons, and almost all of us do more than just one kind of writing.

We challenge each other to write things we don't usually do, to grow out of our comfort zone, to try more...and always to keep on writing. One recent challenge was to start a blog if we didn't already have one. I've considered blogging for several years but never could think of a title that I knew I could live with.

I should be working on a play right now. I've committed myself to participate in NaPlWriMo (National Play Writing Month) with a goal of 75 pages of either one play or a combination of shorter pieces between November 1 and 30. I find myself easily distracted. (I'm sure I must have AADD) Instead of writing the play (I do have 10 pages, though) I've been doing housework. Usually it's the other way around, if I have to do housework I'll be writing or reading, daydreaming, or anything else.

I also have been undergoing some painful dental procedures. I should be resting. I should be doing housework, I should be writing a play, I should be starting a blog...oh...wait. I guess I did.

Thanks to the peer pressure...at the library...I was forced to do some serious thinking and came up with the blog. I think I can live with it.