 |
| If all goes well, these sunflowers will grow 10' tall. |
This should have been an easy job as we were only clearing a 2' x 12' patch, but it didn't seem that way to me while we were working. Ward and I worked together for at least two hours to clear the sod and break up the dirt. That was grueling because the sun was really intense that day, something the sunflowers would appreciate later, but something I didn't appreciate then. However, by the end, we had a nice bed all ready to pop the plants into.
I tackled planting the next morning. And once again what I thought should have been an easy job, took much longer than expected. By the time I gathered my tools, raked in fertilizer, cleaned a few more rocks and weeds out of the bed, it took me almost an hour to plant 5 plants. Ridiculous, I thought! I'm glad I don't do this for a living because I was so slow.
I fretted for a while about my lack of productivity, but then tried to shift my negative thinking. My attitude was ruining the time I usually enjoyed outdoors. I decided to reexamine the sunflower experience. First I thought about how I enjoyed talking with Ward as we shook the dirt off the sod. Next I thought about how I really did like combing through the dirt making piles of rocks I thought were interesting, separating out the grubs. making sure that all of the earthworms were returned to the soil, and breaking up any remaining clods we had missed. The process had been time consuming but interesting to me. So when I didn't worry about how much time it took to plant five plants, I realized that the whole thing had actually been an enjoyable experience.
There are plenty of times when I need to be efficient and accomplish tasks in a timely manner. But not always. Sometimes I need to slow down, enjoy the process, and appreciate what is around me. Just like I try to do in my Second Looks. However, somewhere along the way of working on our new house, I had forgotten about this. It's time to go back to my roots. Time to explore my yard and look past the work that is calling me and to see things with a different set of eyes.
Here's the original post that inspired my Second Looks Now let's see if I can remember it next time I go outside.
I suffer from Productivity Syndrome, too. It seems like I fall in the either/or category--either I am hyper-productive or I am able to totally kick back and relax--it's hard for me when life falls in the gray areas like what you mentioned. Good reminder to stop and smell the roses! I also tend to overestimate how much I can accomplish in a given time--maybe that's true of all of us who fall into this category. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't get into the super relaxed zone very often and that's something I need to work on. In the meantime, I'll try to at least slow down a little and stop and smell the roses. But first I have to plant some. Yep, I still have room for improvement in this area.
DeleteProductivity Syndrome is a wonderful way to put it! I was doing some yard work a couple of weeks ago and got lost in focusing on speed and discomfort. Then I started finding those pupae and worms and pill bugs and focused on them. Made things go much better for me. I try to appreciate those little things as much as possible. The smell of vanilla during baking or waves of heat while I cook. :o) Posts like this help remind me to back off a little bit too! Thank you :o)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you were able to focus on the creepy crawlies while you were doing some yard work and relax a little. The pill bugs remind of when my son Theo was about you son's age. He used to eat them. A lot of them. So don't worry if BB eats one. It won't hurt him. My son is living proof.
DeleteLiving in the moment is hard because we are blitzed everywhere and everyday about the need to be efficient with our time. Sometimes we need to just be.
ReplyDelete"Efficient with our time"--yes, that's the clear message we get from everywhere these days. Just being seems wrong in this context, but it is perhaps the most important thing we can do.
DeleteOh yes! Count me in with the "productivity syndrome" crowd. Where do we all get the idea that our worth is based on how much we accomplish? Like Kris, I tend to jump into projects thinking "Oh, this will take an hour or so" Then several weeks later... What a good reminder to focus on the process not the product!
ReplyDeleteWe tried to emphasize to our sons that bosses were interested in results when they were younger and not always completing things. Now that they are adults and doing pretty well with results in their jobs, I want to make sure that they understand about enjoying the process in other areas. I guess the best way I can do this is by example.
DeleteI love sunflowers. It's hard when we're so busy, to put ourselves down for taking too long to do what seem like small things. Maybe we should all slow down a bit, be more unproductive! Know I need to. I planted some as seeds out front and they're starting to come up!!!
ReplyDeleteI think we should all slow down a bit and be unproductive. I think I can do that. The hard part will be not feeling bad about it. However, every time I see these sunflowers it will be a reminder. After years of intending to plant sunflowers, I've finally done it. I hope we both have great results with them this year.
DeleteI always like to hear about a negative being turned into a positive, well done! Life isn't a race anyways, I think it's best enjoyed slowly :)
ReplyDeleteLife is not a race, but sometimes it takes a bit of experience before we realize this.
DeleteSometimes, circumstances force the slowing or abdication of "busy-ness." Being in the day or in the moment is the best place to be. Love your greenery and I am also a fan of sun flowers.
ReplyDeleteOld habits are hard to break and sometimes we do need outside circumstances to remind us to do things differently. You said it well when you said that being in the moment is the best place to be.
DeleteThis was a very good post! Taking the time to enjoy doing what we are doing, even if it takes longer than we anticipate! I'm glad you took the time to take a second look and reminded us to do so, too. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bless.
Delete