Bits and Pieces

So Much to Read: The Internet is a repository of newspapers, magazines, articles galore, research reports, novels, plays and short stories. Life is a wealth of reading opportunities. We can read print novels, write and read letters to friends and family, and keep up with the news in many ways. All of this is connected with reading. Everywhere I turn I am expected to read the material. By the end of the day I’m exhausted and resistant to reading one more sentence. I’d rather nap or watch a simple TV program that does not require serious thinking. A relief from reading becomes a serious goal.

Bored or Not: In retirement I have a lot of time. I fill it with tasks I find enjoyable. Coaching others is fun for me, analyzing their business or organization problems and suggesting solutions is creative and pleasing. Writing a blog is another creative use of time, and very enjoyable to me. I like writing. I like exercising the mind and discovering new meanings and relationships of disparate facts and ideas.

If I didn’t do these things I would be bored. As it is I have time available to watch too much television. Not much on TV is life-changing or important. Some of it is. History, documentaries, music, good plays, those sorts of things, are valuable to me. They mean something. They help me think complex things through to workable understandings.

Being a couch potato, these days is easy. We have the time to be so. We have TV streaming of tens of thousands of shows to watch. It would be easy to lay back and watch programs even if we aren’t that interested in them. Besides, it helps us snooze, take naps.

Busy, Busy: It is so easy to say your busy, even when you are not. For some reason, people appear to believe your claim of being busy. Some of us are assumed to be busy and it is even easier to make the claim and be believed. Even when it is not true! So why do we say it is so when it most likely isn’t? Here are some thoughts on that.

First, many people think another person is not important if they are idle. A busy person is thought to be important because their time is in demand. They are kept busy doing all sorts of things. They must be valued, right?

Second, why would anyone be busy just to be busy? Isn’t that the definition of ‘work’? Who would want that?

Third, perception is reality to most people. It isn’t factual, but it is what it is.

Fourth, if we don’t keep ourselves busy, we may fall into boredom. Many of us can’t stand that, so we occupy our time with make-work tasks.

Fifth, a bunch of people keep busy because it keeps them in relationships with people. That is something they like and pursue it. It may be as simple as fighting off loneliness, but I think it is far more complicated than that.

Sixth, if we say we are busy then we are able to avoid other tasks being asked of us, tasks we dislike. The appearance of busy saves us from a lot of discomfort!

July 29, 2024

 



 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intimacy

As we mature, we become deeply involved in relationships. Some of this is basic family relations – siblings, parental – and the like. Next is friends who enter our homes and we theirs. Neighbors, classmates, mutual hobbyists and so forth. Then we develop friendships that go much deeper. We comfort one another when we are hurting physically or emotionally. We discuss the matters of life and learn much more about ourselves and each other. We can even anticipate how others will react to various situations and stimuli. Good friendships do not spread to everyone we know. No, good friendships are special, close and deeply personal. We focus attention and brainpower on these few friends. Some special relationships focus on specific topics of interest and importance. Yes, we have specialized friendships. Most common. But one day, we get to know one person very well. An emotional connection forms with deep roots. A need to know the person more fully expands in personal ways. We sense this b...
Read more

Bits & Pieces

Pie: Apple pie more specifically. With Thanksgiving just passed, many of us enjoyed a good apple pie. Sure, there was pumpkin to accompany the turkey, but in our family multiple pies are offered in the holidays. Apple is surely one. Pecan, pumpkin and others, too. But I almost always choose apple. When I was in college, I was asked what kind of pie did I eat most often. In front of my mom, I answered apple, because I was always looking for a pie as good as mom’s own. Of course my mother was pleased, but it was a true statement just the same. When I was married, Ann’s pie was darned good. Her mother’s recipe. But we fiddled with the recipe until it took on its own generational name, and boy, was it good! Today I still order apple pie for dessert because I am always looking for a great pie to challenge our family recipes. I rarely do find such a prize. Do others do the same? Do you search for a great pie of choice, continually? If you do, what’s your story? Why do you do this? ...
Read more

Remembering Tom Sherlock

Tom Sherlock died on Wednesday, April 3rd. He was 65 years old and did not survive a heart surgery. That was his unexpected end and sad enough. But there is more to his story. Tom joined Dan Schuyler and George Safford to create what became the Village Chronicles, a weekly newspaper serving Warrenville, Illinois. That paper expanded to serve Winfield and then West Chicago. The paper published for eight years and built a good reputation for itself. Tom served the paper in several ways. He was our information technology guru, provided hardware and software to support the paper's operations. He was our sole bookkeeper, accountant and financial manager. He designed our distribution process and provided office space for meetings and layout and typesetting. His efforts supported the work of 32 volunteers who wrote and reported on the communities we served.  The newspaper broke even financially most of the time, but it was a struggle. Tom managed to find money to keep the newspaper afloat...
Read more