Be spontaneous. Seize the moment. Be unreliable--once in awhile. Look for the unexpected.
Be ready to take a detour when the opportunity presents itself.
I sometimes find that I have so over-scheduled my day that I am sometimes doing 2 p.m. Wednesday on Friday. I frequently lament, "When will I catch up?!" This is not good – and I know better.
Someone recently sent me one of those delightful on-line wisdom pieces. I wish I could credit the creator, but as in most cases, that part of the e-mail is rarely still attached. (Why is that? Anyone know?)
Quoting in part: "Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine... Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect! We'll entertain when we replace the living room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college."
My dad said many times, "Sis, the older you get the faster time goes." For those of us that are old enough to have noticed, he was right. I have even spun little head movies about how that might be a trick the "wizard" plays on we folks over 40. Those of you who are practicing the skills and techniques in lesson 10 will surely relate to how head movies run. We hope for short engagements!
"Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going to... I plan on... and someday, when things are settled down a bit.'
... have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain... Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask, 'How are you?' Do you hear the reply? When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head?'... "
As some of you know, I have been working on being spontaneous for as long as I have been through the program. (19years) When I first went through the Attacking Anxiety program, I
