A Different Type of Holiday Prep

Thanksgiving is not yet over and I’m prepping for December.  Every year there are the early preparations for Christmas:  ordering Christmas cards, compiling gift lists and starting the shopping, planning holiday events.  This year, in addition, I’m prepping for my December “Someday” – meditation and mindfulness.  I specifically chose this “Someday” for December because the holiday season can be so crazy and I wanted to force myself to slow down and be aware of the joys, the events, and time with family and friends.

Developing a meditation practice will be a big challenge for me.  After all, my motto is “Embrace the Crazy”.  One meditation expert says a key to mindfulness is to “live without frenzy” – seems a bit of a conundrum.  How will I figure out how to embrace the crazy while living without frenzy during the Christmas season?  My first step in preparation for next month is listening to an audiobook, Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation.  I began listening yesterday.  No practice yet.  These are baby steps.  I’m beginning slowly: listen this week and be ready to set aside a few minutes a day for practice next week.

Prepare to Plow Your Field

My “someday” for November is to participate in Write Non-fiction in November (WNFIN).  The challenge is to spend the month writing and completing a non-fiction work.  My challenge did not begin with November 1^st, however.  Once I decided to accept this challenge, I began preparing.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.
                                       –Abraham Lincoln

For me, part of preparing to write is to think – a lot.  I often know exactly what I will write before I sit down to put words on the page.  So, in preparing for this challenge, I thought about my topic.  I also searched the internet for ideas on how to accomplish the challenge of writing daily for a month and actually finishing a book.  I read transcripts of interviews, watched videos, took notes, and I thought.

The thing about thinking is, even though it does require some brain-quiet and a little dedication, it is relatively easy.  I can think while working out.  I can think while cleaning the kitchen.  I can think pretty much anywhere.  But in order to get something done, the thinking has to move to doing.

“You can’t plow a field by simply turning it over in your mind.”
                                          –Gordon B. Hinckley

I am now off to plow my field.