Living in the Flow

We encourage each other to keep going.

Before we left for Chicago, I had been working on changing the paradigm of assigning value to every-day tasks and long-terms goals. I had gotten so frustrated because I could get all of the daily tasks- things due right now completed. Yet, I wasn’t able to touch those long-term projects and goals that would lead me to where I truly want to go. So the week we left for Chicago, I began the day with one task from my long-term goal pile, and found that I actually got more done during the day because I was excited, motivated and in the flow.

Yet when we returned, I struggled to rein my email in and get back on track to complete what was currently due. I also played with how I created my to-do list realized that I needed a tangible list because there are too many things for my memory banks to hold, but I needed a better way to organize those tasks and let go of using the task-list to measure my self-worth. Have you ever had a list and written something you’ve already done so you could immediately cross it off?

Barton had an even more difficult task to let go and live into the flow of his week- his wheelchair is literally in pieces. The parts-on-order list is long- back tires, joints that the tires are attached to, front tires, battery, footrest. To make matters worse- we had to wait to clear insurance and get a “prescription” from his physician, which created more delays. The pieces of metal that allow the tire to turn correctly were completely broken leading Barton to fight his wheelchair just to turn a corner in the house, dragging everything with him including the carpet.

Tuesday evening I came home to Barton lying on the floor, out of his wheelchair with our three dogs licking his face. His frustration was clear, as his wheelchair had gotten caught on the rug, and when he looked to see how to get uncaught, he lost balance and fell out of his chair. Now, he’s taken his motor wheelchair to martial arts training and has practiced falling out of his chair, and was able to roll even with his head pointer on. But he lost valuable time on a project he was working on.

The crescendo happened on Friday when he was walking home from a meeting- the entire cover of the right wheel had come off, like a semi-truck losing rubber on the tires. His wheelchair would only go in circles, and he called me two blocks from the house, stuck. It would have been funny if it wasn’t 100-degrees outside. He had already called the wheelchair repair guys- an emergency call, partly to make a point that he wasn’t kidding, he needed those parts asap.

I was headed to Durham for a round-table discussion, but was running late due to a morning meeting, but I am so thankful I did not head out of town. I stayed with Barton while we waited for the wheelchair repairman, partly so that our neighbors would know Barton was okay (he had even had a policewoman stop & try to push his wheelchair along)! 

Challenges like this can create havoc on the creative flow- how do you recover from spending half the day outside stuck in 100-degree heat, exhausted, frustrated and angry? Over the weekend, we both worked on our different projects, and it was so wonderful to be able to bounce off of each other, encourage each other to keep going, and it helped sustain the flow.

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