This Is Me--2024 A to Z Theme

My A to Z Themes in the past have covered a range of topics and for 2024 the theme is a personal retrospective that I call "I Coulda Been" which is in reference to my job and career arc over my lifetime. I'll be looking at all sorts of occupations that I have done or could have done. Maybe you've done some of these too!

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

I'm Working On It ( #AtoZChallenge )



           If thinking got things done, then I should have built great kingdoms...





Thinking about it is still doing something.
This Project Life

          I've often used the line "I'm working on it" because it was true, but also as a flippant avoidance of the subject.  Actually I've been working on it--the stuff of life--since I was a kid.  Back then my stuff was mostly confined to my closet or drawers.  It was not that much overall, but every now and then I'd organize things better and get rid of things.  That's the way it's been for my whole life and it seems like that's how everybody I know is. 

           My work will come in bursts.  I'll do a lot and then wait a while--rest you might say or I might say a retreat to do something else.  There's no specified deadline to get this cleaning the clutter job done so I'm not stressing out about it.  But it will need to get done.  When I feel like it.

          This project has taken a lifetime and this lifetime is not over yet.  My past, present, and future are all of the chapters of my project life.  There are so many life projects going on at any give time on this Laboratory Earth.  So many different projects...lives.  Like grains of sand on the seashore or stars in an infinite universe.

          Life is like a never-ending coal mine that mostly has been lit up in a miraculous way.   Gems embedded in the walls along certain parts.  There are periods when the digging is good, reaping great rewards, while at other times there are dreary stretches of dark coal stuff.  Fortunately it always got better for me and those stretches weren't all that long anyway.  I hope it was that way for you too.

         Do you feel like your life is an experiment?   Do you have projects that you walk away from to return weeks or months later?    If you were one of the Seven Dwarfs from Disney's Snow White, who would you be?   





33 comments:

  1. I'm always working on it......in my mind.
    It's one thing to think about something than actually doing it. I must get into the habit of actually achieving some of these things.

    Great post for the challenge Lee.
    Good to read.

    Yvonne.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yvonne, the mind is our biggest workshop. I know what you are saying.

      Lee

      Delete
  2. Yes, thinking about it IS doing something. Can't say I identify with any of the dwarf in particular, Doc, Grumpy & Bashful in that order depending on the day. I have to remember the coal mine analogy. Great post about the creative process.
    Pulp Paper & Pigment-My Fiber Art Blog

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda, To think is a verb therefore an action no matter how inactive it may seem. I keep thinking about the coal mine song from back in the sixties.

      Lee

      Delete
  3. I'm fairly organized and not much of a procrastinator but as I've gotten older I think I've moved into the "I'm working on it" territory more often. I've been "working on" redoing my office for about eight months now. So far, nothing much has happened. As for the seven dwarfs, I'd like to go with Happy even if some days I lean more towards Grumpy. Happy still has the edge.Weekends In Maine

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Karen, work never ceases as long as we are still thinking. Happy sounds good to me.

      Lee

      Delete
  4. Hi Lee!

    I like your "Working On It" picture. I can tell you're working on something good.

    I think life is a series of adventures ;-)

    It's good to walk away sometimes, gain a fresh perspective.

    I think I have traits of all of the dwarfs. However, I'm mostly Sneezy - thanks to allergies ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Diedre, something good--or devious perhaps. Life is a series and it's always in a new season.

      Lee

      Delete
  5. Shoot! Parenthood is an experiment, much less my life lol As Gilda Radner says, "It's always something!"
    katytrailcreations.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stephanie, I experimented with my own kids and that seems to have turned out relatively well. Now they've got their own experiments on their hands. Looks like they learned something from my parenting.

      Lee

      Delete
  6. "Never - ending coalmine" ... Wow, what a comparison! The more I think about it, the more I like it!

    My blogs in the A to Z: Self discovery via travel and a separate Interactive story.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Soul, there's coal-mining somewhere in my family's roots. I've always liked things about coal-mining.

      Lee

      Delete
  7. How nice to see a picture of you in action, Arlee! Bashful would be my dwarf I think. I go in spurts too but I've been trying to channel it so there is at least one small spurt a day :)

    Janet’s Smiles

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Janet, that's an old photo that I found that seemed to fit today's theme.
      Little by little can go a long way.

      Lee

      Delete
  8. Well I'd probably be Sneezy, since I do that a lot esp this time of year. And I'm always Sleepy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JoJo, I'm sleepy a lot too. I usually take at least one nap each day.

      Lee

      Delete
  9. I'm a contemplator, so I like to ponder on things first. We are getting ready to move and our new home (well, new to us, but an older home) needs some work before we even move in, and I wish I had time to sit in each room and "work on it" so I could get a better feel for the house.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trudy, it's good to have a plan, but I can do pretty well with improvisation.

      Lee

      Delete
  10. The only way my life story isn't a miserable pamphlet of failure is by the grace that Christ put into it! With that, it is a best-seller.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Chubby! No wait! He wasn't one of them! ;) My life has always been an experiment. When my family was growing up I didn't have time to plan anything! Life was always a great surprise.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Calensariel, even when life is planned it is often filled with surprises.

      Lee

      Delete
  12. Currently that is my phase and after reading ur post I felt i need to start digging instead of working on it... thanks Arlee for this post

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nidhi, digging actually gets things done, but I don't mind the pondering and planning stage.

      Lee

      Delete
  13. "Working on it" actually is not an expression I use... I find that interesting... I am either doing it, or not.

    Beth

    https://bethlapinsatozblog.wordpress.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beth, well, to be honest, I took some literary license in writing my post. I don't think I've actually said "working on it" either, but it worked into my post well I thought.

      Lee

      Delete
    2. Poetic License.......way to go Lee!!

      Delete
  14. Lee,

    Oh yes, I walk away from photo-edits or art sketches or hand-stamping projects sometimes for hours or days at time because of other things that come up but I usually get back to these things in short order. But, I do have something I've put aside to not return to out of frustration like organizing things in this house. I concluded it's just not going to happen because there is no room for the things I want to keep even if I got rid of stuff even a lot of stuff. I will beat this monster eventually but not today.

    Curious as a Cathy
    A2Z iPad Art Sketch 'Indians'

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cathy, the organizing can always wait as much as it is also a never-ending chore. If I have priorities then I try to get those done first.

      Lee

      Delete
  15. I could tell you I am working on it because I am always working on something but that would be a lie because I am far too lazy to work on stuff

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jo-Anne, I always want to have at least some project going on even if only in my dreams.

      Lee

      Delete
  16. Replies
    1. Mike, procrastination afflicts many of us and good intentions are very common.

      Lee

      Delete

Go ahead and say something. Don't be afraid to speak your mind.
I normally try to respond to all comments in the comment section so please remember to check the "Email follow-up comments" box if you want to participate in the comment conversation.

For Battle of the Bands voting the "Anonymous" commenting option has been made available though this version is the least preferred. If voting using "anonymous" please include in your comment your name (first only is okay) and city you are voting from and the reason you chose the artist you did.

If you know me and want to comment but don't want to do it here, then you can send me an email @ jacksonlee51 at aol dot com.

Lee