Life is...

Life is too fast, too slow, boring, messy, dramatic, disappointing, and fascinating. Most of us do the same thing every day. I wake up each morning to a cup of black coffee and a bowl of fiber enriched cereal. If I, for some reason, walk out of the door without completing this routine, my day is completely thrown off, in more ways than one if you get the picture. In any given day, I may or may not accomplish the most basic tasks of some peoples' lives, such as checking my e-mail, updating my blog, crossing tasks off in my day planner, and washing the evening dishes. Some days, I feel that my life is completely boring and predictable. Work, television, sleep, repeat.

So I complete my bi-weekly trip to the grocery store, where I always spend more money than I intend. Predictably, I swallow hard when I swipe my card and exit the store with a mountain of food and plastic white grocery bags, ripe and ready to pollute the earth. I forgot the eco-friendly bags again.

I flip on PBS and watch my Saturday cooking shows, and enter into a fantasy world of food and travel. I too once traveled, and tasted, and experienced life in another world. The places that I have traveled seem to remain inside of me, awakened by images of cobble stoned roads and fresh seafood. In the here and now, the daily bread of my life is sufficient and even bountiful. Really, I can't complain. But I am afraid that my routine often sends me into the auto-pilot mode. Again, work, television, sleep, repeat. One more chapter in the book of American work-aholism, 2008. Ironically, my job, the service for which I am paid, is to help people to unlock their potential and live life with grace and passion (at least that's how I see it). When I actually have time to "have fun" and "enjoy life" I am merely trying to recover from the grind. By grind, I mean that same feeling that causes me to grind my teeth in the shower when I have a 9 o'clock meeting. I am either sleeping, or moving. I avoid sitting still, because my drive toward productivity refuses to go down without a fight.

This blog is about my daily choice to seek passion not productivity, freedom, not guilt, joy, not depression, peace, not worry.