Wednesday, November 18, 2009

What's happening?


My grandson, age 23 months, always asks "what happen?" It's his baby way of asking what's going on? Lately I've been wondering the same thing.

I'm in one of those intense research modes. Sort of like studying for a very difficult class that has copious reading material. You remember those classes? Three giant text books and several books the professor wanted you to read in addition to the required reading? Or you have a giant project due at work that requires great concentration and coordination. But you keep reading other things that you know you shouldn't, and you are not getting your work done. Too many interesting things keep getting in the way.

Well that's sort of where I am right now.

I received two giant boxes of books from Amazon. I have a list for the library. I keep finding stuff that I want to explore on the internet and other blogs. I feel the need to go in a certain direction, but keep getting distracted. I feel like time is going past very quickly, and I need to be prepared. There is definitely "time anxiety." But for what?

What's happening?

Do you ever get like this?

34 comments:

Ladybird World Mother said...

Totally totally get you!! Feel just the same at the moment and have no real idea WHY?! How nice to find out that you are in the same boat...xx

Lydia said...

Absolutely. My life is out of control, I know it, I commit to changing it, but it continues to spin and often with me at the epicenter.
Om.......

John Atkinson said...

I think that's why I write. I have anxiety attacks because I want to paint a picture on the cave wall that speaks something like this. "Hey world, I lived here once. Remember me."

Ruth said...

Sounds familiar! I love being in that mode, love it.

Thank you for participating in the How I Named My Blog day December 1st, Nancy! I think it will be fun.

Unknown said...

You just described my last two weeks and, I'm sure, the next two!

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

Oh yes - the relentless passage of time can seem like a heavy weight! I often find myself caught in that place! Interesting though, if one can transcend ego's conception of time - one finds that it is simply a convenient human construct and truthfully, we have all the time there is . . .

DJan said...

I notice how often I think in terms of linear time, but it's really not that way; we humans see time as being linear, but the present moment is all we have. The rest of it is thinking about the past or looking to the future, both of which exist only in the mind. I believe that form of anxiety is part of the season, for me at least.

Brian Miller said...

you will know when it gets here, but sounds like you will be prepared...happy researching!

Jen said...

Yes and I feel like I can never FINISH anything because I am always STARTING something else! Everything seems related to me in a way that it never was before though. It's just crazy!

Swetha said...

ha ha ha:) I'm facing the same situation.. i have two Giant books to study for each subject.. but i sit with some other books .. and i have all these mixed feelings only during my examinations

Mental P Mama said...

I'm in the same boat. Paddling fast....

Anonymous said...

yes time is going by very fast. But time is an illusion, so if you learn something at age 99, you still learn it and its essential that you learn it.

Bogey said...

Only all the time Nancy. With the number of books that I have collected and haven't read yet, I will have to negotiate with God before He takes me from this earth. There is so much to do and precious little time, I find myself scratching things from my list more and more. Time for a re-evaluation me thinks!

GYPSYWOMAN said...

wow! very weird your post topic [for me anyway] - i just this moment left rob and trish macgregor's site where today's post is a great story about a clock - and time - i comment there about how i don't even own a clock because i don't like the idea of time hanging around me - and that i even cover clock faces on electrical appliances - anyway, click out of there and click here - and voila! here i am reading of time again - but as to your post here - yes, i have the same problem - with books and blogs actually - i read one thing and it reminds me of something else and i go grab that book and same thing with blogs - so kinda like being on a merry-go-round! anyway, neat thought-provoking post, lady!

Deborah said...

I like what Bonnie had to say. Last night I found myself getting anxious about all the things that have to be done and how little time there is to do them, but then just consciously let go of the worry. Reminders are needed to do that regularly, and living in the present helps too. Lucky you to be busy with wonderful things like books, though.

Nancy said...

Wow, thanks everyone for reminding me that time is a construct - not reality. We only have the NOW. But I still feel like I have something that needs to be accomplished. I can see that some of you have the same feelings. Hmmmm

Paula said...

Right in the middle of it!

~JarieLyn~ said...

I'm kind of like Jeninacide, always starting something, getting distracted and then moving onto somehting else. Too much going on. I want to do one thing but something else pulls me away. It is like a merry go round.

Lori ann said...

For me blogging has made a big difference in how and where prioritys are met. I love to be here in blogland, but I do miss the reading I used to do B.B. (before blogging).

I think maybe when I retire there will be time enough to do it all. Or am I just dreaming? ☺

Sniffles and Smiles said...

Yes...a sense of something on the horizon..."Something's coming"...like the song from Westside Story... Love the photo of old books...I adore old books...so easy to get lost in them!! Love you! Janine XO

Something's Coming,Westside Story, Lyrics:

Could be!
Who knows?
There's something due any day;
I will know right away,
Soon as it shows.
It may come cannonballing down through the sky,
Gleam in its eye,
Bright as a rose!

Who knows?
It's only just out of reach,
Down the block, on a beach,
Under a tree.
I got a feeling there's a miracle due,
Gonna come true,
Coming to me!

Could it be? Yes, it could.
Something's coming, something good,
If I can wait!
Something's coming, I don't know what it is,
But it is
Gonna be great!

With a click, with a shock,
Phone'll jingle, door'll knock,
Open the latch!
Something's coming, don't know when, but it's soon;
Catch the moon,
One-handed catch!

Around the corner,
Or whistling down the river,
Come on, deliver
To me!
Will it be? Yes, it will.
Maybe just by holding still,
It'll be there!

Come on, something, come on in, don't be shy,
Meet a guy,
Pull up a chair!
The air is humming,
And something great is coming!
Who knows?
It's only just out of reach,
Down the block, on a beach,
Maybe tonight . . .

Nancy said...

Sniffles - Love it!! Thank you!!!

Sylvia said...

Time to read, time to play, time to enjoy the company of the children... How I wish I had it!

S3XinthePantry said...

Yes, and now I'm wondering "What Happened" when I have 2 or 3 things on my schedule at the same time. This weekend looks CRAZY

Elizabeth Bradley said...

Oh yeah, I hear you. I lock myself in my office. But the damn computer has a damn clock. Drat and double drat. I love that pic of those old-timey books. Old books turn me on. It's a pathology. I had to stop collecting them.

Mike said...

I get distracted so easy! Even with something as simple as blogging! I am always in 10 different directions!

Marguerite said...

Well, you know the saying "time flies when you're having fun and drags when you're not". So, if time seems to be flying by, relax, it just means you're having fun! :)

Jo said...

Do I ever feel like this? All the time. But something happened and I just "go with the flow" now. I don't let myself get too concerned about things. I have a routine that I stick to, and anything else is just flotsam and jetsam. I make priorities for reading, going for walks, being with friends, painting ... and I try not to get over-anxious about anything else. All we have to enjoy is today.

Life is sort of like a roll of toilet paper. The closer we get to the end, the faster it goes. :-)

Anonymous said...

To be able to have 'fixpoints' for your senses. Did you notice the smell many of those books have, while turning through the pages? Hopefully it is a good one, providing you something for this sense. Sight and sound while turning pages. Taste might be found within the things you learn and feeling, maybe one of the most important ones, knowing that you do something right, something good.
As sixth sense, I'd like to choose 'thinking' which you surely do know well.
A wonderful Thursday filled with many nice moments for you.

susan said...

There's change in the wind - no doubt about it now.

Lillian Robinson said...

Only ALL the time! There is so much I want to do, and I feel a let down at the end of the day when I see that I did not accomplish all I wanted...

Maria said...

Sometimes!

Alicia @ boylerpf said...

This hit home big time! Lately, I have had this jittery feeling like I need to do something or not accomplishing what I need to..etc, etc. It's this uneasy feeling & I haven't a clue why. Here's to settling down and catching your breath..

PeacefulWmn9 said...

I do get like this and it drives me crazy. Lately, I know where I want to go...in 3000 directions at once, and I also realize I need to narrow the focus...but how?

So much I feel so urgent about accomplishing.

Pat said...

I feel stress, or that I'm falling behind in things, and I don't even work! We get involved with a lot of things at the park where we stay for the winter. This blogging business takes up AT LOT OF TIME, both in posting and following other blogs, especially if the WI-FI is not cooperating. I'm behind in reading my library books, and I'm WAY behind in my photography course, which is self-paced. So, yeah, I feel your pain. And don't EVEN talk about Christmas! LOL!