"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." - Henry David Thoreau
Who among us does not have at least one calendar going? Whether it's for work or personal appointments, I have it marked somewhere to ensure I maintain my obligations. But what about for both achieving and maintaining those castles in the air? Isn't a calendar one of the bricks in that foundation?
One of my resolutions is to both create a householder calendar and then, of course, stick to it.
I both hate discipline and thrive on it. As I've gotten older I have accepted the place discipline has in fulfilling one's dreams. Having played both baseball and basketball, I grew to hate discipline. The scheduled practices seemed to based more on fear than improvement. Yet, on my own time I took playing sports seriously and trained. I hated going to the gym to lift weights, even when I saw a noticeable difference in my physique. I did it because I knew if I didn't get stronger and better, someone out there was.
Once I was finished playing, having been devoured by athletic Darwinism, I experienced a great deal of relief not being tethered to a practice and game schedule. Once I stopped playing I had a tough time committing to anything. Rather than understanding that through discipline I may have maxed out my athletic promise, I saw the investment of time not worth it. As new dreams replaced the ones of being a professional athlete, it was easier to live in dreams of hope and wanting - never willing to risk and see if they could be obtained. In my mind I had already failed once.
This devastated my life in my twenties - I wanted to achieve things, but I did not do my share in order to obtain them, as if success would depend on luck alone. I had to re-learn that discipline could create a richer life. This had to be the foundation from which all would be built.
My mid-life crisis centers around living a richer life, not necessarily financially. Living more sustainably and closer to my morality are two steps closer to that. I've gardened long enough to know that to achieve the garden I want, I must put my share of work into it. My goal is to eventually provide enough vegetables to feed my wife and me through the year. Yet, if I don't create a quantifiable schedule, I know I will fail. It's really what my coaches told me all along - success is where preparation and opportunity meet.
One of my first excursions into the gardening blog world was www.awaytogarden.com by Margaret Roach. She has monthly chores that can help keep a gardener on task. They've been helpful and have used them as a guide to inform my own chores around the house. Another blog I follow closely is the http://www.waldeneffect.org. Anna Hess is currently selling a homesteading calendar that was just posted today. Either one of these websites have been helpful guides.
No, my garden isn't a game that is about winning or losing. Rather, I'm viewing it as play, which is always more fun. If it all fails, I will have enough money to feed myself. If it all goes bad, as it sometimes does, I have ask myself the first tough questions - did I give the garden the time it deserved. Moving towards a life that needs a foundation built, I am not accountable to a coach or team, but to myself and living in a manner that is more in concert with my soul.
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