Blended Living

• sleep – these darks days have contributed to me going off schedule
• its late, but a quick nap has me wide awake…again
• that computer book on powerpoint will likely do the insomniac trick
• middle east is at it again- that’s depressing if you let it get to you
• so much for trying to get in a library fine-less year
• made it 5 days, maybe next year
• all things seem to come in waves, and reserved books at NYPL is no exception
• trying to read more and faster, but can’t seem to cover all my interests
• should minimally scan all the books first, so I can better prioritize
• first attempts at a better reading/diversion/exercise rotation has been good
• this was first thought off during my trading as a living period
• chunking by setting routine breaks actually allows me to digest more information or get more done
• which may seem counterintuitive at first
• but yet it works
• and burns some extra calories during the day as a bonus
• combined with a steady water drinking habit
• it becomes a nice detox benefit too
• I like the buddhist concept of good and bad seeds in all of us
• just that we need to acknowledge the bad seeds
• and nurture the good ones more
• otherwise we find ourselves doing bad things for no good reasons
• like watching TV for hours and hours to dull our senses
• or eating all the Ice Cream
• or shopping for yet another thing we don’t have money or space for
• or worse…
• its OK and actually very healing to notice these trends in us, and actually smile when we catch ourselves and postpone that bad automatic desire or craving
• and take a deep breath in and let it out with a smile
• which is an addictive habit but in a good way
• as I notice I’m smiling more because random strangers are smiling back at me
• I came across a nice quote today
• Random Kindness and Senseless Acts of Beauty
• I helped someone carry groceries for a ways
• she was receptive to the help
• which is more rare than you’d think sometimes
• as the world conspires to cause people to be so suspicious sometimes
• but she thanked me with a smile
• you know recessions can be bad things, but they can be good things if you make it so
• like it causes you to focus on some more important things

Economy got you down? Looking for some inexpensive things to do?  Host a scrabble or boggle night.  The games are likely owned by someone you know, or they are not that expensive to buy.  Considering the hours of usage, the cost is lower than a night out at the movies.  The travel version of Scrabble is easily packed in a bag and can go to any coffee shop or friendly location.

Online Boggle if you want a quick diversion.  Random games are setup, you get 3 minutes to type in words, and then it scores it for you. The site has a wealth of other word related things yet to be discovered by me.

A quick boggle game is a nice little segue way between projects or tasks, or a little time shifting boundary between work and after work.  Its becoming a ritual as I get ready to leave work, or go to lunch.  Its a blended living practice- little habits or rituals that mark the boundaries between work and home time. ( Don’t take work home when you don’t have to.  Get it done there.)

The other benefits are that you get to keep your mind sharp, and off the crummy economy or any other negative seed that you would rather not water.  It exercises different parts of my brain and lets those other coding, computer problem solving parts get a quick rest.  For you NLP types, it can become an anchor to transition smoothly from work to home or play and vice versa.