It turns out I like the flurry - tending to stay in motion

Yesterday was a crazy day in my life. I had to complete two vastly different projects. First, I was presenting my "Let's Talk Clouds" workshop at a local middle school.

As the Earth Lady, I work with schools to help students jump-start their interest in science, specifically Earth Science.

Then, I switched gears and released my interactive Tarot reading ebook. As part of the project, I had to finish the programming, create the cover, and upload the entire thing to amazon.

I'm excited about this project because it allows the reader to choose a new card every day from a random selector set. Then, the reader sees the interpretation and a special call to action individual to each card. I've been working on the interpretations for years, but I had never figured out exactly how to create the interactive portion of the book.


And here's how the title of this blog post relates. I didn't try to focus on both projects at once. They are too disparate. As I've gotten older, I've seen the wisdom of limiting multitasking. Although it seems efficient, it isn't. It's a will-o'-the-wisp. It leads you down the primrose path of thinking you are being efficient while all the while your brain is operating at a slower speed and lower level.


Here's what I did do. I completed the workshop with the kids, and I gave it my all. I left it all on the classroom floor, as they say. We had a blast. Their transformation from before the workshop to afterward startled me. They went from post-lunch food coma to shouting about how much fun they'd had in just under 40 minutes. I can't wait to go back.

And after I got home from the workshop, I jumped into the Today's Tarot project. I created the cover. I finished the programming. I uploaded everything to amazon, and I released the entire thing.

It was exciting and energizing. I didn't feel my exhaustion until I was finished. And then I dropped like a stone.

Why did I just write up my entire day for you? Well, it's because I've had a realization. If you work hard, if you commit yourself to excellence on each project, you will succeed. And here's the most important thing. The key to that success lies in maintaining the level of focus and activity on each project while you are working on it. The Law of Inertia comes into play here. "A body at rest tends to stay at rest. A body in motion tends to stay in motion." If we take a lot of time between projects, we will fizzle out on them. If instead, we rev those engines, blast through the projects with full dedication and focus, and only take the foot off the gas for a bit between them, we will fly. And we will fly because we are already in motion. We are already doing and creating so it becomes easier to keep doing and keep creating.

To refocus my brain on a new project requires almost no time if I do it correctly. I've started taking the time to recharge by doing a quick breathing meditation. It is simple, and the best part? It's only a minute long. I've created a small video of the meditation. The next time you need to recharge between projects, go ahead and try it.

And let me know how it works.

Today's Tarot: Two of Rods (bold, confident, innovative)

Today's Tarot: Two of Rods. (I always love this card!)

Bold, innovative, confident.

To a vegetarian, the phrase, the world is your oyster might mean something different than to someone who eats meat. Having said that, I take it to mean pleasure, joy, success - are yours for the taking. And you can find hidden depths, secret pleasures, and big answers in unlikely spots like you might find a gorgeous pearl in the most innocuous-looking oyster.

So, the mission today: Look for the hidden sources of happiness. Seek the unusual, the original, the secret entrance to the cave of joy. It might take remembering that you are a powerful being. It might take coming up with your unique solution to a thorny problem. It might take reconnecting with your dreams from when you were a child. It might take girding yourself for battle against your inner critic or internal demons, but you can do it. Tell your inner naysayers that you rock and you have the world on a string. And then, act like it.

The Marriage of being a visionary and a doer

The Star, The Moon (reversed) and the Three of Pentacles. Today, it's pretty simple. There's a time to be inspired and there's a time to put our noses to the grindstone and just do the work to make things happen.

Some people are idea people, visionaries. They see far and clearly. Their ideas are innovative, unique, and revolutionary. But, even with all those fantastic ideas, those very same people often can't put one foot in front of the other to actually make the things they so clearly see in their minds. Others are the nuts and bolts people who can take those ideas and turn them into reality. They know how to develop plans of action, they know how to take those steps to do the work to create and/or support the manifestation of the vision.

The key to success, I believe, is to have both inside us. We can't just have the brilliant ideas without the wherewithal to actually manifest what we envisioned. So we need to cultivate both sets of characteristics. The Star, the Moon, and the Three of Pentacles epitomize this state for me. The Moon is visions, ideas, inspiration, possibility. The Three of Pentacles is the nose-to-the-grindstone, buckle down and do the work card. And the Star is the synthesis of those two. It calls us to keep reach for the stars (dream, envision, inspire) while we keep our feet on the ground (plan, strategize, do).

That meeting of Earth and sky, that distant horizon, if you will, is where we need to go to achieve whatever level of success we decide upon. Ultimately, one cannot exist without the other. It takes partnering those two different parts of ourselves and strengthening the one that is more challenged.

So, which are you more like, the dreamer or the doer? Decide and then spend today cultivating the strengths of the other side. Are you a dreamer? Practice taking a step to plan and do. Make a list of what you wish to accomplish today and check each thing off. (Make it small and manageable or your dreamer side will rebel.) Try not to take on too much or you will get discouraged and might quit in frustration. Each small accomplishment will make room inside you to work on the bigger challenges. Are you a doer? Spend part of today finger painting, smelling roses, or just doodling and see where it gets you. I guarantee, it will get you somewhere wonderful.