Friday, February 15, 2008
Fitting It All In
A good friend of mine used to refer to an "Old Israeli Secret Weapon" frequently as we attempted to tackle what seemed to be an impossible task at worlk He explained that Israel, a small country without the oil wealth of nearby countries, continued to hold its own, and in fact, have an effective, well trained military. He said they used an Old Israeli Secret Weapon to accomplish so much. With one side to the ocean and nowhere to retreat to, they simply had no choice - their knowledge of that was their secret weapon. Once you have no other choice, there's nothing left to do but put your best effort into getting the job done.
So when he pulled out his Old Israeli Secret Weapon, I knew that we didn't have any other choice but to roll up our sleeves and give it our best shot.
In rabbits, there are few times when we really don't have a choice. We may need to pull out our Old Israeli Secret Weapon when it's very cold outside and we know that we have to go to the barn. From time to time, I look around to see if there is another choice. But the "no" sign from Andrew means I have to move foward and just do it. Brrrrr.
We may have to pull it out when we start to dread a long drive or the company of someone that tries our patience.
We really have no choice but to keep our barns clean. There's a really long list of things that I'd rather do than shovel manure, clean cages, or unstuff nest boxes. Those are times that I need to just forget about finding a way out and just get it done. I always feel better when it's done anyway.
When I step back and look at my life as a whole, I find that I need my Old Israeli Secret Weapon more often in order to get it all done. Sometimes I don't feel like writing. But I try to discipline myself to do it every day as planned. I have a lot of work to do on my new cobalt business (thank you so much to everyone who visited Laurie's Cobalt World yesterday!) I really don't need my secret weapon for that because I love it so much. I need my Old Israeli Secret Weapon to keep me going when it comes time to make supper or, as in the case yesterday, to make Anna's birthday cake. (Yes, I took a break from my diet.) I've used my energy on the new business and need to summon up new strength to get all of the rest of it done.
I don't need my weapon to spend the afternoon grooming, weighing, sorting, and playing with rabbits. But then I'll need it to catch up on the chores I've gotten behind on because of the time I spent in the barn.
Unlike the Israeli's, we do always have an out if our hobby gets to be too much for us. But I don't believe in constantly questioning whether I should be doing something. That constant questioning stresses us out. Considering the question two or three times per year is more than enough. The rest of the time, I just consider myself committed to the plan, committed to the work involved, and committed to my rabbits.
Sure, sometimes I have to pull out my Old Israeli Secret Weapon to keep going and get it all done. But all in all, it is worth it.
Laurie ¶ 11:45 AM
So when he pulled out his Old Israeli Secret Weapon, I knew that we didn't have any other choice but to roll up our sleeves and give it our best shot.
In rabbits, there are few times when we really don't have a choice. We may need to pull out our Old Israeli Secret Weapon when it's very cold outside and we know that we have to go to the barn. From time to time, I look around to see if there is another choice. But the "no" sign from Andrew means I have to move foward and just do it. Brrrrr.
We may have to pull it out when we start to dread a long drive or the company of someone that tries our patience.
We really have no choice but to keep our barns clean. There's a really long list of things that I'd rather do than shovel manure, clean cages, or unstuff nest boxes. Those are times that I need to just forget about finding a way out and just get it done. I always feel better when it's done anyway.
When I step back and look at my life as a whole, I find that I need my Old Israeli Secret Weapon more often in order to get it all done. Sometimes I don't feel like writing. But I try to discipline myself to do it every day as planned. I have a lot of work to do on my new cobalt business (thank you so much to everyone who visited Laurie's Cobalt World yesterday!) I really don't need my secret weapon for that because I love it so much. I need my Old Israeli Secret Weapon to keep me going when it comes time to make supper or, as in the case yesterday, to make Anna's birthday cake. (Yes, I took a break from my diet.) I've used my energy on the new business and need to summon up new strength to get all of the rest of it done.
I don't need my weapon to spend the afternoon grooming, weighing, sorting, and playing with rabbits. But then I'll need it to catch up on the chores I've gotten behind on because of the time I spent in the barn.
Unlike the Israeli's, we do always have an out if our hobby gets to be too much for us. But I don't believe in constantly questioning whether I should be doing something. That constant questioning stresses us out. Considering the question two or three times per year is more than enough. The rest of the time, I just consider myself committed to the plan, committed to the work involved, and committed to my rabbits.
Sure, sometimes I have to pull out my Old Israeli Secret Weapon to keep going and get it all done. But all in all, it is worth it.
Laurie ¶ 11:45 AM
