3 Minute Reflections On A Semi-Geek Lifestyle

Being retired has only simplified my life in one aspect; working outside the home for someone else. I was afraid of being bored or uninspired but I find that the opposite is true. I can say no to almost all things boring or uninspiring and it is accepted without qualification by my peers. I still get up in the morning; I still work hard to meet goals. There are still deadlines, agendas, organizational problems, occasional meetings and financial obligations.

I’ve stopped mourning the paycheck (my husband has not) and tried to focus on quality of life instead. My time is spent on developing my faith, supporting my family, trying to help others, following my varied interests and caring for our health. It’s working for me.

There is a philosophy bite in Eastern religion that translates something like this: If you want to know the state of your life, sit still and look around you. Notice that this doesn’t say close your eyes and reflect on your situation, go to an expert and hash it out or be oblivious to the world. Nope. Sit still and look around you. Stop in your tracks, right here, right now, and take notice of what your senses perceive.

Since you are reading this, I assume you are at your personal workspace trying to accomplish a number of tasks, or just relaxing and taking in some mental stimulation. I suggest that you pull back from the keyboard, take a deep breath and take a full three minutes to assess this moment in your life. If you are anything like me, 3 minutes can be an eternity when forced to concentrate on things you normally take for granted.

Turn 360 degrees, slowly. What do you see: order, chaos, pride, neglect, family, unfinished projects, cleanliness? What do you smell? (I’ll let you go there alone!) What do you hear: music, sounds of nature, quietness, the faucet dripping? The last and perhaps the hardest question is how do you feel about what you see. Does your space please you? Are there things there that put you in danger? Is it a palate that needs more paint, or perhaps less? Does it reflect who you are or just what you have? Is there too little or too much in your life? If you could change just one thing, what would it be? How would it make a difference?

One of the ways that I start a donation box is to stand in each room of the house and carry out a similar exercise. Things that have outlived their usefulness will pop out at you and shout to be recycled. Just remember that the stuff you haven’t used or enjoyed for a long time may be just the thing that fills a need for someone else. That set of pillows you bought that really doesn’t match your sofa, dishes you haven’t used for an eternity, clothes you haven’t worn for a full season or art that really doesn’t suit your home or your taste can give great joy to another person. If you do this once a quarter, there will be a point when everything you have is actually something you want. What a concept.

From my desk, the three minutes look like this. I have a wall of photos behind my desk filled with people I love or have loved in my life. Sitting directly in front of these folks is a big oak desk that is absolutely covered with personal items and project materials. There’s a stack of tech, cooking and design magazines, the mystery novel I’m currently reading and an LLC manual, a basket full of downloaded web materials, current business papers and files in progress.

There is a wooden box full of note cards, stamps and other correspondence supplies, a stack of “attention this week” mail stuffed under the foot of my flat screen monitor, a photo box of about 2000 family photos that I am in the process of archiving, a CD tower with my “essential” program files and favorite current music CDs and a plethora of personal items including a manicure kit, PDA, sticky note holder and a big banker style desk lamp next to the wireless phone, linksys receiver and pen caddy. I have two physical calendars that I keep besides the Outlook calendar on the desktop, and none of them are synchronized.

The drawers are full of art supplies, note cards, specialty papers, and other computer supplies. A separate table with a shelf holds the all-in-one printer, fax, copier, which is choked for space with supplies and manuals. Behind me, there’s an entire bookshelf (4’x 8’, 7 shelves) dedicated to computer books and original software boxes, except for one shelf of bibles and religious materials.
I’m laughing now because I realize that the last 3 paragraphs are way out of bounds and that I couldn’t possibly detail even this small portion of my life in the 1000 words or less that I usually allow myself for these commentaries. The sentence structure also reveals a lot about my personality and I’m not sure I intended to open up that can of malarkey.

If I had my meals brought to me and a pillow to throw on the top of this desk, I could actually keep myself busy for about 20 years without getting bored. If I turn my head to the left and look through the French doors, I can see more of my life…the home for which I have stewardship, my cat “Queenie” looking for food and scratches, the yard beyond, ready for late fall cleanup and pampering. Behind me, sitting at another large roll-top oak desk is my husband, who is really the number 1 priority on my earthly agenda. To my right, a large window reminds me of all the great possibilities beyond the front door. It’s about 72 degrees outside and a walk, a swim or a visit to the fitness center would be perfect today.

I think it’s important to do these little assessments so that you can get a real time snapshot of how you are spending your most precious commodity, time. A well equipped workspace, while it’s a good tool and an entertaining spot, is not a life. You can not fully experience the joy of real human contact online. You can’t exercise your mind or your body properly if the majority of your time is spent in front of a monitor. Although I value many of the contacts I’ve made online, the phenomenon of IM friends is not a satisfactory replacement for interaction with family, friends and neighbors.

For this reason, the message today is that we need to establish perspective and create guidelines for our lives based on the things that make us happy. To be happy, one must be balanced. That is a combination of faith, relationships, environment and health. The almighty computer, the TV, the Radio, and the incessant flow of mail are only tools to support our REAL life, which lies somewhere beyond their allure.

You are hearing this from a net and technology enthusiast who met her spouse online 11 years ago. We would never have met without this technology, and will be married for 10 years in April. He is still my daily light. This would not be a reality if we had not left the desk to participate in developing a real friendship and taken the time to sort reality from truth, play together in the real world, share our interests in real time and validate our feelings. So, play and work in cyberspace, enjoy your time there. Be very careful to live and take great delight in the solid realities of your life. There is sustenance there when the screen goes blank.

Well, Dell is at the door with the final box of goodies for my husband’s new computer. What timing! I’m the set-up pro here, so my exercise for the next day and a half will be crawling around on the floor, pushing the oak roll top in and out of place and suppressing expletives. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Be still, be well, be faithful, be kind;
be of a wholesome and generous mind.
Choose your path and try not to stray,
When friends are in need, call them today.
Encourage your peers, never be blind;
Strengthen your heart with the ties that bind.
Savor the moment and live in it well,
For moments are gifts with a story to tell.

Paula

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