the shortcut to relaxation
Is this about choice?
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I’m a legend with my family, famous really.
People are famous to their family for all sorts of reasons.
Me?
I’m famous for my short cuts.
We talked about slowing down in the heat.
Dennis commented that in NYC we focused on keeping the air flowing.
This creates a bit of a problem.
How do you keep the air flowing when there isn’t any wind?
Fans?
Thousands of them.
Or
Keep moving.
I’ve always bought base model cars.
Love their simplicity.
And?
I never have air conditioning.
As such?
Sitting in summer traffic gridlock?
Unspeakable.
Even slow downs that keep the flow down hit me low down low low low low.
When I’m driving in the summer I just need to move.
And that’s how the ‘short cut’ was born.
There’s nothing short about it.
In fact:
I drive hundreds of kilometers every year on backroads and side streets.
These are my ‘shortcuts’.
These are the places I slow down, make things more inconvenient and, oh so importantly, less stimulating.
Shortcuts where I can keep busy.
Shortcuts where I keep moving.
Shortcuts that take longer to get there, but bring me to a state faster.
The key?
Keep moving.
Tell me about your shortcuts.
One Derful Thing
Go to a movie, family event, zoom meeting or whatever.
Laugh in appropriately.
Wait for the Victorians.
When they unleash their furry of manners, trace the letter ‘Z’ in the air while insisting: ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzip it!
In the moment of suspension while they pick their jaws up from the ground, look at your watch / wrist.
Look back at them.
Look back to your wrist / watch and begin to laugh while saying:
Right, this is that world where people pretend that things are both serious and important.
Right time for my serious face.
Then?
Make your serious face.
***IMPORTANT NOTE***
Don’t try this ever. Anywhere.
Short cuts. I got nothing. Long cuts. That's what I do. Why buy vanilla, when you can make your own and control the ingredients and the flavour depth. I get lost easily, spatial orientation is my least developed intelligence, so I go the prescribed way or follow a short cut someone else has shared, ie their prescribed way. I am cleaning my family room as my first summer project. Everything but big furniture left the room. Next, wipe down walls and dust, vacuuming, and steam cleaning the carpets, wipe down the baseboards, repair the mechanics on the reclining furniture, repair the footrests that had fallen off said furniture, reposition furniture for better flow, decide that now is REALLY not the time to repaint or remove the carpet to discover whether the hardwood hidden beneath is as awesome as the rest of it in the house, place the removed items in the room so they are not a hazard in the hall, remove the curtains and wash them. Today: see if curtains require ironing...they will...and sort through the objects deciding the merit/home of each. Yes, I watched the full season of Marie Kondo when it was on Netflix. I learned everything she taught by about episode 5, but not watching the full season would not have been thorough.
Thorough is my super power and my kryptonite. Not being able to be thorough is my procrastination trigger. I have learned to be thorough on smaller tasks. Can't clean the room? Clean the table. Repeat. Ever tell you about moving 1.5 cord of wood in my subcompact's trunk using an office paper box?My favourite quote: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. There is no short cut.