Let There Be Light

Happy first Monday of 2010!! It's a new year, a new month, a new week, a new day, and a new chance at being excellent. In other words, a whole lot of newness!! I'm pleased to report that 2010 has gotten off to a great start thus far. The past 24 hours have proven to be especially kind. Life is lighter and brighter. Here's why:

Continue ruminating...

1. On New Year's Eve, I bought the book Getting Things Done (GTD) by David Allen in hopes that it would motivate me to greater levels of productivity. The Songbird had been encouraging me to purchase it for at least a month or more and I kept refusing. Well, on NYE I had a gift card for Borders and decided to give it a shot due to the low investment required on my part. I'm glad I did! One of the first things the book suggests you do is to get all of your "to-do" items out of your head and into some sort of system. I'm a person who keeps a lot of things in my head and written in random notebooks and Post It notes. I didn't have everything written in one place. I'm also a person with a ton of tasks on my to-do list and had been feeling a bit overwhelmed about all of them. And I won't even begin to go into my need for better time management. Well, David's suggestion to simply list all of your "to-do's" and what the next tangible step toward completion would be has taken a sub-conscious load off my mind. He also shifted my perspective: instead of managing time, I manage my actions!!! Time management had me feeling a bit less than stellar, but thinking of myself as an action manager almost gives me a new shot at greatness. I may have been a poor time manager, but I will be an excellent action manager! Needless to say, the timing of all of this has been divine. At church on NYE, my pastor delivered a message about being more productive in the new year to reach your goals. On Sunday, he gave GTD a shout out and suggested it to the congregation. I no longer feel stressed and overwhelmed by my list of 37 projects in the works. I'm way more optimistic about being able to get them all done.
2. Living in NYC most folks have very high ceilings, and I'm no exception. My ceilings are quite high. So, when the light went out in my bedroom ages ago, I never replaced it (only used a lamp). I was waiting for an opportunity to have the super come up and do it since he has a ladder. I tried once to change it by removing the light fixture and nearly broke it so; I thought it best to leave it alone. Due to my formerly procrastinating spirit and inability to get the fixture off myself, I had been without major light in the bedroom for more than a year. Sad I know. But, my living room light bulb went out this weekend and I had no choice but to contact the super. After a morning shuffle to locate him and convince him that my lighting need was a matter of urgency, he came up and replaced the lights. My living room and bedroom seemed like new places once I could actually see them again. Shout out to the new GE radiant bulbs!!!! My world literally got brighter this morning!
3. Lastly, a friend has started a blog to enlighten folks on her journey of seeking God's Will for her life. As most of us who started the "process" of being committed Christians know, it's a path with many ups, downs, twists, and turns. But it's also one that provides for moments of great revelation. She wants to share her insights and encourage as many as possible with her tales of living la vida salvado ("saved" - per Google translator)!!! Check her out at: The eNLYTEnedquest.blogspot.com. While each and every one of us have interesting stories to tell, as our lives are so unique and experiences so vast, we can all stand to learn a little bit from others. Why should I put in the work of personally going through an experience if I don't have to? There are many things that must be experienced firsthand, but if I can gain wisdom and enlightenment from yours, why not?

I hope this new year has found you well and given you a renewed focus on attaining and maintaining a fulfilling life. Over the next month or so I will be making some changes to the blog to more accurately reflect what's going on in my life and in my mind. I appreciate your readership and your feedback. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think (good or bad). I know y'all are out there because I'm tracking traffic (yep, I've turned all big brother on you), but please comment here on the blog instead of via email, IM messages, or Facebook (unless you have something super private to tell me). Unfortunately, blog commenting is still a follow the leader deal - more folks comment when they see that others have already started.

Thanks in advance. Happy New Year and Happy Dream Fulfillment to all of you!!!