Every morning, blanketed in the black before sunrise, I walk into my office, and I’m faced with the same decision:
Do I start digging into my work pile and get a jump on my to-do’s,
OR
Do I stop and do something that seems both self-indulgent and impractical? In other words, do I meditate?
Almost every morning, as I saunter down the hall, head full of yesterday’s overflow, the to-do’s seem like they’re going to be the victor. I can hear the high-octane voice of a drill sergeant in my head commanding me to get to work.
GET TO WORK SON!
YOU CAN GET BACK TO ALL THAT UNIVERSE-CONNECTING MUMBO JUMBO TOMORROW.
DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND DIG OUT OF THAT HOLE.
DIG DIG DIG!!!
THE MORE MINUTES YOU SPEND DIGGING, THE MORE FREE TIME YOU CREATE FOR YOURSELF.
I know this voice all too well — it’s an important voice — but one not to be bullied by because, after a “to-do” type of morning, two things are always true:
1) I’m not done with my to-do’s; and 2) I’m still in the hole.
Packing in more work never seems to be the right answer, but for some reason, that option still calls to me. It calls to a lot of us. It’s hard to ignore that obnoxious shouting voice.
[ Editor’s Note: I confess, the drill sergeant won out yesterday. I abandoned my original attempt at this post to get some work done. Ah well. Definitely some irony there. ]
Fortunately, there’s a quieter, gentler voice that never steers me wrong. They have great things to say, though, for some reason they like to speak in riddles.
you know what works…
Yeah, but this universe-connecting thing takes time. And I got shit to do. I’ll never it get it all done if I don’t start now. I won’t even get it all done if I start right now, which is why I have to start right now.
you speak with the wrong mouth and see with the wrong eyes…
Seriously?
close your eyes and you will see…
A touch cliche. You need to work on your material.
do it for the universe…
What about me?
you are the universe…
I’m just a dude.
you will become the universe…
I’m gonna need a bigger office, then.
your office will disappear…
Yeah yeah.
….
You still there?
i am always here…
It would help if you were more forceful.
forceful hands crush the rose…
But shit gets done.
be careful about wanting completion…
Okay, okay.
….
This probably isn’t going to work.
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You there?
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Hello?
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Whoa.
welcome back
Thanks.
now you see
Yes.
and so you can
Yes. I can.