That’s the comment my friend Len at NextReformation.com made when asked what he does for a living. It captures my sentiment as well. But the hard reality is that writing is something I do on the side, while I do other things to keep my family fed and people cared for at our family medical clinic.
So I’d rather be writing. But writing takes time and there never seems to be enough time to all the things one needs to do so you prioritize. My priorities for the new year fall into the following categories.
First, there is my outdoor work. Proverbs 24:27, “Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house. Being a 21st century self employed business person means my “outdoor” work consists mainly of sitting in front of a computer screen doing financial forecasts for our family business. It’s not very “outdoor” but it is necessary for sound decision making, just as preparing a field was necessary for a farmer’s harvest.
Second, there is self care. This activity has recently moved up in my priority list. You’ve heard the old English proverb, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Well I have discovered that’s true of me (Mike) as well. It’s not just that too much work makes me dull, it also makes me sick. Too much stress from being out of shape and worrying about work. So I have resolved this year to have a little more fun! It also means getting outdoors to play not just to work. I am resolving to enjoy the beauty of God’s good creation as it is displayed in the Okanagan valley. This means doing some skiing at Big White which as of
Third, there is all the stuff of family life. Today, we purchase a new used car for the three teenagers who occupy our abode. I have to arrange the money and the insurance. So that’s what I am doing for my lunch break.
Finally, there is writing. Writing is not simply sitting down in front of my blogware web form and filling it out. It means collecting my thoughts on a subject, organizing them around a central topic (like “It’d rather be writing!”) and then bringing some sense to what I want to say. This takes thought, self dialogue and prayer. So it means a concentrated effort and time commitment. In short. writing can be a spiritual discipline and that’s what I intend to make it.
Thus my resolution for this new year is to set aside that creative time of the day to write. As I recently discovered in Time Magazine: How to Tune Up Your Brain, my creative time is
Thus instead of saying, I’d rather be writing, I am writing!
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