Among the many surprises and gifts that I find, in being an aunt of two (pre-teen) boys, is that I get to be an audience member for endless strings of Joke-Telling practices.   I’ve mastered the truthiness of being “in the moment” to laugh along & encourage them….even when I’ve heard that joke a couple dozen times (by that one OR by his brother!). It’s good for me. And laughter is like inner jogging.

Along the way, one of my favorites to hear is a joke that has some built-in profundity. Stop me if you’ve heard this one:

           How do you eat an elephant?

(pause for audience members’ reflections….for folks who come up with wildly creative & descriptive words for the possibilities. Turns out it’s way simpler than that)

                  In. Small. Bites.

Of late, I’m leaning into the wisdom of those words. There’s plenty of new (quick-moving) projects at work that are in my In Pile. And there’s plenty of home projects that are calling my name. But I am very aware that I can get stuck, just sort of stunned by the number of things to tackle. As in, standing stock still (swaying a little bit): “Holy Moses, how am I ever going to get all this done?” I’ll ask myself. Long lists can be daunting & intimidating….therefore really not helpful at all.

Today, I paused the house-chores list and sat still to do one single, sweet  little task that was like a mini-Zen exercise.  Amid getting things accomplished–I sat to do one tiny, noticeable task: I sorted out my earrings sections of my jewelry box. I chuckled at first ( a funny sight and setting) but then as I sat there….the message came shining through: There it is, there’s the clarity of focusing on this moment’s activity *and* the sense of reward at the end. A finite task. And am glad/grateful for it’s getting done.

Risky as this is, I’m going to say to this Community of Risk-Sharers, here’s my Intent: By my next turn to post, I aim to have completed a few mini-Zen exercises like this. The Plan? Make a mind-map of the items I’m ‘mentally carrying around,’ scan for urgent, buzzy, “Gotta” items. Work on those, tend to them. After that, tho, will mindfully choose one list-item at a time that holds appeal and interest. Break it down into workable portions (to allay overwhelmed-ness). Refraining from temptations to multi-task, I’ll address some home items and some work items, and will pay attention to the sense of focus, accomplishment …and peace at the close of it.

I’ll plan to report back to you as to whether this “being accountable to this community” plan helps with my Zen-ish moments.

And most of all, I aim to:

                       Take. Things. In. Small. Bites.

(just like the elephant in that famous joke……)

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Claudia Brogan is a lifelong trainer and educator, having worked and taught at universities in student leadership, psychology, student advising, and counseling. Lately, she's foraying into doing training in the public health arena, which is a very different world indeed, a risk in itself! She'll try anything once, if it sounds fun, and so she’s joining this circle of resourceful, colorful, gutsy women – what the hell?! Claudia can be reached on Facebook.
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