I got partway thru my "22 for 2022" list when a lightbulb went off: making a list is useless if I don't address the reasons I haven't done those things already. Also, making that list is hard, because there aren't really that many things I want to change! For now I am setting aside the cute device and thinking about what could change & how.
There's not that much that I want to change about my life! (Not counting external things like idk THE PANDEMIC. ) I do fall short of the 2 commodities everyone wants more of: time & money. Time, of course, is the tricky one: despite centuries of admonitions to do so, no has yet discovered a way to make time. There's only as much as there is, so the question is how one utilizes it. Depending on your definition of "enough," I have enough money - if enough means there's always food & the bills all get paid. But there's not really enough to do anything extra; not to mention I am 57 years old & I need to be saving. Clay is not really something that you retire from, but one day I will not be able to stand on cement floors for 9 hours a day to teach classes; one day beyond that, I will not be able to lift kiln shelves. Eventually throwing may be beyond me.
Anyway. What I need to think about isn't more things to do; I need to think (among other things) things to not do. Things that I do out of habit that don't generate much joy, or things I can automate, or devices I can utilize to shorten tasks. For example, a couple years ago I bought 3 devices that have been so useful! I bought my Fitdesk, which both limits my noodling around online & transforms that wasted time into workouts. I bought a Roomba & a robot mop - both about $200 - so worth it! I like to say I am neat but not a freak; when mess gets to a certain level I find it distracting. Having the 2 robots do their good work every day keeps down the general level of crud in the house all the time. I wonder if there are other devices that could take on other tasks for me.
Finding ways to claw back time would (sort of) solve the money end of things, too: I'm fairly confident that if I could make more things, I could sell more things.
Today in the studio: more glazing. Might be loading on Xmas day!
One thing I will try to do more is celebrate the small things. Perhaps just a word or a thought to acknowledge the positive things in life.
ReplyDeleteA Joyful, Peaceful, and Merry Christmas to you and yours.