Just in time...

I struggle. Often I feel as if my feet are dragging through the mud of life. As I lift one the other is sucked deeper into the mire.

Our grandparents had the answer. "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today"... "A stitch in time saves nine"... "A rolling stone gathers no moss"... and so forth. I can still see my adolescent eyes rolling...

In each generation we gain a lot, but I also believe we lose wisdom. Technology allows instant access to information, technology, services and products. Our lives are convenient, and ready to serve. In the days of our grandparents, they worked for each gain. The ethic of working for gains was apparent, and self evident. If you didn't embrace it you didn't eat. The ethic of getting 'your ducks in a row' was not a matter of good organisation it was a matter of survival.

In our soft, welfare fuelled world where has the drive and competitiveness that kept us healthy and alive gone... Depression is rife... Obesity and diabetes is out of control... our love for our fellow man and our community is desensitised. We are sedantary, in fact energetically we have slowed down so much it is a wonder we are still alive. I despair for us. For our race.

It is time to regain our energy, our self respect, and our connection with life. Issues and problems have a way of clumping together to look bigger than they are. Like the bogey man in the closet, our brains love to over dramatise. I am consistently amazed at problems I solved, almost without effort after months of worrying and procrastination. The Chinese were thinkers. I love thinkers. If you ask the Chinese how to eat an elephant they would tell you 'one bite at a time'. This is also the secret to getting your feet out of the mud and regaining some sense of control in your life.

Identify each of your problems as individual issues, don't waste time with 'what if's' or 'if only's' you will only sink deeper. Once you identify a problem, identify the first thing that can be done about it. Now comes the big secret. DO IT! Do that one thing that can be done right now! Suddenly, like a ball of wool, the problem, that thing that has been holding you back will unravel. Follow the string through to the end. Let it go. This is important once a problem is solved, let it go! Visualise the end of that string being pulled out of your hands or cut with a pair of scissors. It is no longer your problem. Recover the energy you were wasting by worrying and relax. Of course then repeat until you can see the light.

Get your gumboots on and start chewing!