Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Third Degree of Truth.
My mentor applauds my high-focus on getting projects completed and new ones kicked off. There is, of course, a “but” to this praise.
“Hmmm,” she says. “You’ve planned for activities that support the career sector, the home sector, the spiritual sector, the health sector. About the only sector that’s devoid of any planning is your ‘fun’ sector.”
Groan. There are things that must be done before I can have fun. Having fun is like dessert. It’s a treat you don’t get until you’re done with the yucky, slimy stuff. Right?
“So what are you going to do for fun over the next three weeks? I don’t want to pressure you. Just one thing. You can find time for one thing that’s fun, can’t you?”
I cringe and promise I’ll take a couple of hours to go see a movie.
Over two weeks have passed since that conversation. No movie. In fact, I haven’t even turned on the TV—not once—in over a month. My leisure sector is sadly lacking, but I can console myself that it’s the most horrid work month of the year and the month will be over in a few more hours. I have managed to hang out for a few minutes in my garden but not much else. Nothing that couldn’t be combined with one of my other sectors, mistress of efficiency that I am.
And then AngelSu hops on the bandwagon, too. This is shortly after we come up with some wonderful new affirmations for me:
– I am my future self radiating into the present.
– I believe in all that I do, and I do what is mine to do.
– I remember who I am beyond my physical identity.
– I am familiar with my true meaning.
– My thoughts shape my reality.
– Where I put my focus gets a lot of force.
“Lorna,” she says out of the blue in that sweet, contemplative voice of hers, “you enjoy so many things!”
I hadn’t thought of it that way before. Usually I think of only a few things I like to do, probably because I’m thinking of them whenever the question is raised. But I really do enjoy so many different things, including things that don’t seem very active to other people.
It’s the walks in the grass, people-watching at the Commons, talking and laughing with people, music and candlelight when I’m alone, dinner with the girls, watching a campfire as it dwindles, sitting on a porch swing in the shade, watching the sun set (or rise) over the water, perching cross-legged on the floor with friends, the smell of incense after a ritual and the way it lingers in the air, treasure-hunting with the girls, decorating my house, singing with the girls, listening to a band play live music, watching the fireflies in the woods…so many little things. “Work on bringing forward all those things you like,” AngelSu tells me. “This is a refinement period for you. This is your time to decide what in life pleases you. Call
that in. Call it to you.”
So I am. On this utterly beautiful Autumn day that feels like springtime, when there’s not a cloud in the sky but the monarch butterflies are plentiful, the flowers are lush, and the mockingbirds are serenading me, I’m calling in a little bit of fun.
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