Explore. Dream. Discover.

First off ~ I cannot take credit for tracking down the photo above.  The uber-fabulous Charlotte Tarantola sent it to me, and we're now trying to figure out how we could re-create something similar in my backyard.  I mean really ~ a dinner party in a pool?  That's just too groovy for words.

While I ponder the odds of finding a baby pool big enough to hold a table and four chairs, I am in the midst of a period of overwhelm with regard to all the projects I'm trying to manage right now.  It must be said that there is no one to blame for this overwhelm except for yours truly, as it has always been my habit to take on more than I ought to.  The scary part is that as I try to figure out how to stay on top of everything, other ideas continue to lure me in new directions.  That is my brain ~ it is like the red-lit ticker above Times Square, with visions, ideas and brainstorms constantly streaming through my consciousness.  On any given day, I have moments where I think about how fun and magnificent a new idea might be, but have to immediately let it go, knowing there are simply not enough hours in the day to do it all.

I know this feeling of overwhelm will subside.  This is a pattern in my life that has been in place ever since I can remember.  In many of my old journals, I bemoan the fact that I can't seem to find "balance", critical of my tendency to dive into things without always thinking them through.  But then I decided to take a different approach, which is to accept that this is the way I am and that I will always have a certain level of intensity and activity in my life.  This has its merits and its frustrations, and I will likely continue trying to tweak certain habits here and there, but the beauty in acceptance is that I avoid the emotional extremes of these experiences.

In other words, the period of overwhelm I'm experiencing right now isn't paralyzing me or freaking me out.  I know it won't last, and the fact that I am having to manage so many meaningful projects is the most loveliest of "problems".  This is part of the process of embarking on any new adventure, and I'll take a few episodes of overwhelm over playing it safe any day.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover.”  ~Mark Twain

Comments

[Lisa]

You just put into words what I feel all the time...thank you! (I just Sam Grawe's editor's note in Dwell Magazine and he refers to such problems as "fancy problems".....I like those kinds of problems!).

[Melissa]

Ok if you do a dinner party in a pool...I better be invited!
You may be in overwhelm but you are getting things done! And I for one can't wait to see all the great work that comes out of your overwhelm!
Besides you could be like me with lots of ideas and then don't do anything (although I'm working on that). xo

[elizabeth~so wabi sabi]

Man, can I relate! I love your approach of just accepting it as who you are. I tend to go through this stage while working up to a project where I feel like I must abandon everything because I'm so overwhelmed. Using flower essences and just recognizing the pattern has helped me tremendous as I drift through those difficult waters. The trade winds do come with some faith.

[Kate Courageous]

Project Overwhelm. I can completely relate. We need a support group. ;-) I have started to embrace my "PO" as simply a side effect of living a passionate, multi-faceted, multi-directional life. Sometimes it does feel pretty stressful, but as long as I'm choosing projects that I'm fully "behind" it's really such a gift.

[stacy kathryn]

Oh my gosh! I love the dinner party in the pool idea...run with it!

So funny that you pulled that Mark Twain quote I just finished a mural in my studio and that's the quote I wrote on it. Love it.