In The Balance...

The toughest part of freelance writing and blogging is the balancing act one must perform between a day job, writing related tasks and reading, spending time with family and friends, and the general day to day life things that we all come across.  

Although I would like to think that I have it all under control, there are moments when it becomes painfully obvious that I do not. Life, no matter how much you think you are planning or manifesting, still manages to throw in a series of unpredictable events that quickly lay waste to even the best laid out plans. Things like losing your car for a day or two, or missing a flight to find everything else booked, or something throwing you off your game just enough to give that odd, but not very pleasant, amiss feeling as your day moves forward, can all mess up your rhythm and lead to all those great writing plans going astray.

So how does one maintain the balance of work and writing with life demands? They are all necessary; you need work to pay the bills, and you need writing to feel whole, while you need life to provide love energy exchange with significant others, family, friends, and the universe as a whole. 

Deep breaths....meditation....strength...pushing out and releasing all things negative and anxiety provoking. Accepting that there are some things that will come up that you cannot change the direction of, and that in riding out the wave, things will smooth out, and you will be back on track. Sound easy? Of course it isn't.

But that doesn't mean you are doing anything wrong, just that you are evolving. As you adapt and adjust to the changes and events coming and going at sometimes breakneck speed, it almost seems to start getting easier the more insane it gets. For me, the crazier it is, the more focused I am...not that I'm rooting for crazy. I do enjoy a mostly relaxed pace, but in short spurts crazy busy can lead to some crazy grand results. 

Embrace what comes your way, as it is meant to come your way to develop some aspect of your life, career, or spirituality. 

Yes, I know it's not easy, and I have certainly failed at it many times myself. I shake off the failures, regroup, try to learn from what I did wrong, and move onto the next task.

Bucketlist Update

Of, so this week's post may be a little boring, but only because my time is somewhat limited to complete what it was I REALLY wanted to post. So.....remember that bucketlist I created at the beginning of the year? Well, here is my first thirds of 2013 progress report.

Item 1: Complete a Book Idea. I have handwritten out four more chapters, consisting of around 12,500 words. This is a rough guesstimate as it is handwritten words. Grade: B

Item 2: Promote/Expand http://raisiningourhumans.com. I have started to post more regularly on holistic cat topics, as well as putting up a few more funny stories. I still need to add more to the multimedia gallery, but overall viewership of the site is up 31% this year. Grade: B+

Item 3: Raise Awareness of using Natural and Local Goods. It seems that I am chipping away at this one slowly but surely. We do this almost exclusively now, which has been pretty wonderful. Grade: A-

Item 4: Spend More Time With Friends and Family. I'm getting a little better at this, but still have a loooooong way to go. Grade: D+

Item 5: Read At Least One Book Every Three Weeks. I have fallen off the pace a bit, but should be able to catch up to this goal in short order. I only have three completed, but have five in progress. I still find it hard to just pick one book and read it until it is finished. Grade: D+

Item 6: Review an Indie Writer's Book...At Least 6 this Year. I am right on track with two reviews written; that keeps me right on pace with a review every other month. Grade: C

Item 7: Spend Five Days A Month In Nature: Unplugged. Failed. Period. Although I have an excuse with my recovery, I am not going to use it here. Something I must improve on. Grade: F

Item 8: Increase Spiritual Pursuits. I have been doing my meditations when I am called to do so. I find them to be especially strong the day after a new moon and the day before a full moon. Wonderful things are happening here, even though my lower brain still yells a little too loud at times. Grade: B-

Item 9: STC. This one is still slowly brewing, but making baby steps like progress. Grade: C-

Item 10: Master Polish. Bardzo dobry! (Very Good).  Ha! I wish! I am getting much better with my grammar, which has made me more confident when learning new vocabulary and putting together sentences. Speaking is still a challenge, but reading, writing, and listening are going well. Grade: B

Item 11: Continue to Frequent the Little Guy. Done and done. Rarely do I step foot in or spend money with a chain. Grade: A-

Item 12: Shameless Self Promotion. I'm getting better at doing this, but spend most of my promoting time promoting others, which itself is wonderful. I graded myself up a bit because of this. Grade: B

Item 13: Aviation. Not much progress made here, but I am looking to turn this around soon. Grade: D-

Overall: Grade C. I made some good progress in some areas, but lackluster progress in others. A very noticeable all or nothing trend that I need to fix in the coming months

Back To It...

It has been a while since I last posted, but I am happy to say that this will be changing immediately. I was out of commission for a while due to a medical issue that needed to be addressed. This time away, though not spent writing, led to some grand realizations and a few changes in how I will approach my writing from this point forward.

The changes will be seen not only here, but also in my writing style as well. This new style of writing so far seems to be influenced by some of the classic prose I read during my recovery, as well as my growth in understanding for English grammar as a whole, brought on by my learning of Polish. My learning of Polish led me down a path of learning more about Polish literature, particularly from the renaissance era. Some of what I read really struck a chord in me, both in the style and various manners of composition. 

I hope that you all will still receive the same or enhanced enjoyment in reading my new works. As always, critique away.

Namaste.