Distractions....

This is me and my sweet baby Mitchy...he just started Kindergarten and it leaves me with all of my children in school....a day I thought we would never come to....but that leaves me with no more excuses.....
...Let nothing distract us from who we are and what we are and what we are to become... ...when all of the big priorities are taken care of...and there are quiet times and quiet moments....no one will take each and every moment by the hand for you, for me...it is up to each of us to grab the hand of Heaven and shake the rest of it off...for there is too much in life grabbing for our attention, trying to divert us or annoy us or busy us.....and the work to be done is too important to let the distractions go on....

TODAY I AM PROCLAIMING A WAR WITH DISTRACTIONS...I AM GOING TO TAKE THEM ON.....but...i am in search of suggestions....for how to really do this.....

dis·trac·tion n
1. something that interferes with concentration or takes attention away from something else
2. something providing entertainment or amusement, especially something that takes the mind off work or worries and helps relaxation
3. a state of great mental or emotional upset

so is that the opposite of:
????
trac·tion n
1. application of a pulling force for surgical purposes, for example, to reduce a fracture, maintain bone alignment, relieve pain, or prevent spinal injury
2. the adhesive friction between a moving object and the surface on which it is moving, for example, between a tire and the ground, without which the object cannot move
3. the act or process of pulling something, especially by means of a motor, or the fact or state of being pulled along
4. a means of moving vehicles
5. a means by which, or the degree to which, progress can be made

I love life. For sure I have loved it more during certain times and less during certain times, but there's no doubt that I love life. I am highly frustrated by distractions, however....and wondering if anyone knows great ideas for ignoring, ridding, rising above, eliminating them? I HAVE STUFF TO DO!!! ....and I bet you do too!

....and I know sometimes you think...DOES IT REALLY EVEN MAKE A DIFFERENCE WHAT I DO??? YES YES YES IT DOES!! What if the writers stopped writing and the painters stopped painting and the singers stopped singing and the gardeners stopped gardening and the decorators stopped decorating and the designers stopped designing and the DREAMERS STOPPED DREAMING!?? Can you think of a bigger tragedy?

You know, I think I do really great while I am at work, I am making the best art of my career right now....but then in those moments that I have....to do the stuff that IS REALLY HUGE...that I am SENT HERE TO DO...I get totally distracted....Yes, I am moving all of my belongings across the valley, and moving is no small task, and yes things have happened that I can not control but need my absolute attention, and yes, life is crazy....but, mostly it is just little distractions that do not care about me or my future....

What is distracting to me at this moment:
-fear
-what if's
-old habits
-boxes to be unpacked
-watching friends and peers get attacked when they are putting their hearts out there
-fear
-percieved obligations, guilt, dust on my entry table
-laundry
-my growing addiction to Etsy.com
-pretzels, trail mix, brownie batter
-fear, fear, fear....

Here's what I'm working on:
::::Finishing my book (still) it is words away from completion...though I've thought it was finished so many times, and then it just isn't...and I always know why God is holding it for a few more words, and I know what they are, and I know I need to write them....then I get distracted....mostly distracted by fear. My editor keeps telling me it is sensational, I have a zillion requests for it, I know it's going to sell like crazy, I KNOW it's goign to help people....and I have a very patient editor....but still, I keep telling her that I am afraid.

::::and the PODCASTS....with the hundreds of letters that I get about the podcasts...still I am distracted. But, one is coming very soon....and it is a good one. THIS IS THE FIRST BATTLE I'LL WIN THIS WEEK IN THE WAR ON DISTRACTIONS....

::::My studio---and the $100 budget I have given myself to complete it. I have to have a garage sale (the world's largest, I am thinking....if you are in town you should come, it will be at my old farm which is being demolished soon and will then be a subdivision) anyway, I am distracted by the millions of other things I need to do and I know for SURE that getting my studio done ranks very very high in importance. I CAN'T WAIT to show you what I have gathered from my barn, from my life to put it together.....and the $100 I make from my garage sale will go towards paint....maybe a bit of fabric...because I really think I can do it with everything else I have....it is going to be a super fun journey....you all helped so much with your links and suggestions....

::::Huge Opportunities---as the old saying goes, WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSES....yes, yes...how true it is...the opportunities that have come my way are incredible and enormous...but then, I am distracted by the sheer amount of them...and again, by fear....

...........and I know why. I have been burned, and it still stings. I have been watching as a few of my wonderful generous friends who put their hearts out there get attacked, and I ache for them as I put myself in their shoes and wonder if it is all worth it (and it is)....I have had disappointments and hardships and hurts and many of those things have even hurt others, which I probably hate the most...and it's been very very hard and blah blah blah....it is nothing unique, I wish I could always remember that....it's just like everyone else who has ever gone out on a limb.......and now I'm gun-shy. So there, I said it...now it has lost it's power...because fear works in darkness, and meanness works in darkness and when you bring it out in the light...you see how ridiculous and mean it is...and how small it is really, and how much power it really DOESN'T HAVE.

So, really fear is the biggest distraction of all.........the rest of it can be managed quite easily.....it's very important to help others who need help...friends who are mourning and kids who are running for student council or who need help with their homework and husbands who are launching new projects....those are not distractions, those are priorities...but the BIG DREAMS INSIDE can not let anything distract them. IT WOULD BE TRAGIC.

So, today, I am committing to polish off the next podcast, and to meet with my CREATIVE BIRD group...which I keep getting too distracted to do....but with all of the meetings that I've had with my little group, my buddies are just moving through the distractions...check out Jodi...she is totally going for it with our mission www.darlinbird.blogspot.com

....and I just found this photo...
This is when I wanted to do something very badly...jump off of a huge train bridge, and I was mortified...so scared....so so so scared...and Marq helped me climb up there, coached me through it, stood with me for more than 20 minutes as I was near tears SO ANGRY AT MY FEARS....that's the only reason I wanted to do it...not because I love the thrill of the fall, but because I don't want fear to have power over me....and I finally jumped in the water.....

....and that's what I'm gonna do again. Because I am standing on the bridge of a million wonderful opportunities that God has put into my hands...and has ASKED me to take....and I am going to move past these distractions.

I HOPE YOU WILL TOO......do not let fear have power over you. Do not let anything keep you from who you are and what you are and what you are to become.

::::::: Hear All Good, See All Good, Say All Good, and Do All Good :::::::

Lots of Love
Melody