The Joy Factor

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I love doing. I love being done.

Posted by Rebecca Ewing on October 24, 2011 · 7 Comments 

11:00. Draft cover letter. Edit cover letter. Print cover letter. Correct cover letter. Print cover letter. Smudge cover letter. Print cover letter.

Find “about ” and ” credits” files. Waffle over how much to use. Or how little. Copy and paste. Edit. Format. Correct. Print. Correct. Reformat. Print.

Copy and paste seven files. Edit. Format. Print draft. Damn. Fight with Word. Curse Microsoft. Curse again. Oh. There must have been a page break there. Delete that. Argh. There are two copies of one file – where did the second one come from? Print. Proof again. S**t. Yet another not-so-elegant transition. Forgot a notation. Take a break before I print. Review. Print.

Find camera. Photograph the subject. Upload.  Where are the photos?!!  Oh, I’ve updated operating system since last upload. Poke around. Find photos. Import to iPhoto.  Edit. Blah! Bad shadows. Rinse and repeat. Matte or gloss? Print. Border is inconsistent. Print again.

3pm. Did I have lunch? How do I indicate which image goes with which story? Oh. Doh: number them. Search for razor-point Sharpie. Great gussie! Where are my mailers? Mad search ensues.

4:45. Dash to post office. Address one of their mailers at counter. Hand to clerk. Swipe debit card at 4:58 pm.

5:15. Pour wine. Sit on screened porch. Stare into space. Stare into space.stare into space. stare into spacestareintospace. . .

It took SIX hours to get a twenty-page proposal printed and mailed. SIX. (Well, really five, plus the hour looking for my stash of Priority Mail mailers and the Sharpie. But still.)

Twenty years ago, this project would have taken nearly a week to prepare. Remember when we had to type, and use correction tape or liquid, and retype (and retype) to get it perfect? Then save to a floppy disk and go to Kinkos to print and copy en route to the post office? (I’m still too ticked at HP to give them any credit.) But remember when  you had only a dot matrix printer?

I LOVE MY MAC.

His name is Newton. He works hard for me. He holds my data, and he finds it when I ask, nicely. He makes me look good. And he does it quickly. Usually.

Carpe diem
Rebecca


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Spin Lessons

Posted by Wendy Watkins on January 28, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

universe_in_handsIt is amazing to me where gifts of wisdom show up in our life. It could be on the road, at the gym or even in the shower!

For the past 5 years or so, I choose a theme at the beginning of the year. This concept works best for me, better than resolutions-imagine that! I think of my theme as a touchstone for what I want to create  this year.  I love touchstones-I have quite a few of them. As an earth sign, they keep me focused and grounded.

This year my theme is Allowing. The essence of Allowing for me, is to keep my Joy Factor high,  receiving what it is I desire in my life. In order to do this, I focus on loving myself and others unconditionally. I put my attention on the qualities that are present in the people I care about, not what is missing in them.  It is a  fun game that I get to play each and every day! Most days I do really well.  Some days I have to roll the dice again. I am enjoying the journey,  knowing  that I am paving the way for more yummy things to show up each and every day.

When I go to spin class, I pay attention to my body in class. What reminds me to pay attention is watching other people. Today I was directly across from a woman that was clearly struggling through the session. I could feel her fighting her body to get it to do what she wanted it to do. I sent her some of my allowing energy. When I did that, it came right back to me. I felt my body release and get into the groove of the uphill journey. What was feeling hard, all of a sudden felt easier.

What is the point in working hard to get the results we want? Unless you really want to work hard, then go for it. Self-Care is about taking care of the self, for the sake of feeling good. Work easy, that is more in alignment with this component of The Joy Factor. When you can raise your Joy Factor, then you attract with ease-yummy!

How many times do we struggle along, because we forget to allow? Because we forget to give up resisting and just go with the flow. I take this reminder with me through today and days to come. One smooth pedal stroke at a time, will get us up the hill, so we can first enjoy the view and then cruise down for a bit.

Enjoy the ride of allowing my friends-I am off to the shower-what will show up there?

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