Feet on the ground, head in the stars

The other day I was at Shock City Studios working to complete my audiobook when Rich, the sound engineer who makes It’s the Journey sound so good, was confirming where we were starting that day. I told him the page and, for probably the 3rd time, told him what percentage we had completed. He laughed and asked how I knew that. At the time I dismissed my measuring things telling him that I only knew that because the Kindle version I was reading from had that information at the bottom.

But…today a box of hot sauce arrived in the mail. Not a bottle, a Box with 6 bottles. I looked at these lovely bottles of green goodness and realized this was the third such order since the plague began. So, we (my boys and I) are on our way to consuming 18 bottles of this magic! Then, I checked my rice supply and saw that we have consumed 75 pounds of rice. 70 pounds of flour! I’ve driven 7,000 fewer miles. I’ve freed up 500 hours of time from not having to drive to work, take my son to school, or get to do the things I like to do, like improv practice and shows.

Where am I going with this? Quite Mad…you may be thinking. But you would be wrong.

Well, I’m recognizing there is indeed a part of my brain that appreciates quantifying and measuring things. It’s data that is helpful to me. When we look at the objective results of how we live our life or how we spend our money and time it allows us to make better decisions. All of the above things represent huge saving of time and money. Time that I can devote to life enriching projects and personal development, and money that I’m not wasting driving around and eating out.

I’ve done this kind of measuring my whole life. As a kid I analyzed my grades, my physical results for sports, I obsessed over the best way to combine classes in college in order to get a double major in the most efficient way. How to save more money from the odd jobs I did. And on and on.

Part of the point of my book was that I learned to let go of some of that. I had done it for years from a place of fear driving me. An obsessive need to feel in control through measuring, counting, and tracking data. My book tells how I learned to trust myself, say yes when I didn’t know the outcome, and follow the fun of things that were pulling me. Now, I use my analytic part of my brain as a means to maximize my time to free up space to say yes. I use it to simplify my life from an expense standpoint so that can save for the things I want versus wasting my money unconsciously. It’s still a part of me but I now use it for what I want versus from place of fear.

It’s still a part of me but I now use it for what I want versus from place of fear.

I told the story in my book how I saved thousands of hours and dollars by simplifying my life from a housing standpoint with a condo instead of a house. That free time gave me the space to heal and grow in ways I never thought were possible. Covid-life add even more time and money savings by allowing me to work from home so much. In the future I’d like to not have a car and simplify my housing even further. I don’t know how I’ll do these things exactly yet but I’m yes-anding my way to making it happen!

I guess I’ve learned to balance the two parts of me and that feels good. I can be ok with not knowing so many things because I’m not scared and or because I know that in this NOW I’m doing what I can, and what I want to the best of my ability. And, I’m conscious of living on purpose in terms of how I spend and invest my time and money in away that opens space for me to do what I want, what I feel pulled to, and what makes me feel a sense of happiness, fulfillment, and contribution.

We have 6 more month of this weird way of living. Give or take. If you are still not doing all the things you used to measure that a bit. How much time are you saving from the things you aren’t doing or can’t do? How much money are you saving. If you’ve had to cut out spending for financial reasons measure that too. What will you and won’t you bring back in later? (I absolutely have had to do that during financially difficult periods many times in my life and my heart goes out to the millions who can’t work now.) Are you capturing that time and money? Is your new life less stressful. Less impactful on the environment? If you don’t capture time and money freed up, it’s like water on a flat surface dissipating versus being channeled to the things you want to grow in your life! If you need this time to be still too, do that! Relax, recharge without guilt to get you through a winter of life and be recharged for spring! It’s coming. It always does.

The cover photo was taken by me in 2017, in Florence at The Galileo Museum. It’s a smaller museum compared to all the art in that city, but well worth checking out! I also recommend El Yucateco hot sauce if your into some spice in your life. Just be careful. ;)