Catapulting Ahead

Sometimes, the planet shifts and things happen. Last week, I was bemoaning the fact that many of my long term projects just seemed to be stuck, and nothing much was getting done, except the daily routine of paperwork and chores. I’d even slacked off on working out and keeping myself in shape. It is January, anyway, and we are supposed to have the blahs. But, I don’t do “blah” well, and I wanted to get things moving again. Frustration was building and I had no place to deal with the angst.

Then, one morning at work, it all changed. The gods apparently decided to break the dam, and let the river run free. There was a flurry of e-mail activity, a few phone calls, a few letters in the mail. Within a day, the following happened:

• My proposed community college class on social activism is going to be offered in the spring catalog, and I solidified the mechanics of that process with the college.
• I organized a men’s gathering to talk about sexual violence, with a nationally recognized guest speaker coming to town. My guest list was created and invitations are in the mail.
• My state representative contacted me about a bill I wanted to get introduced two years ago in the Legislature. She is supportive, and I spoke with a lawyer for the Legislature who drafted the bill. It will be introduced next week, with my name on it as the “requestor”.
• The contract to set up electronic ticketing in my court was finalized, and will be approved tomorrow.
• A colleague e-mailed an offer for me to be trained on suicide prevention, an issue near and dear to my heart. There is money to pay the $500 tuition and I am now enrolled in the day long training.
• I’d been slacking off on my photography, so I left work early before a meeting, and took myself on a nice long walk on my favorite beach. The light was extraordinary and I took over 100 pictures, most of which were amazing. The Muse was present and smiling. My creative heart is happy. On the way home, I stopped for coffee and ran into two good friends I’d wanted to connect with for a long time. Our hour long coffee break was rich and cheerful. I left, connected, and caffeinated.

• I’d been stymied with my guitar homework, but finally figured out the chord progression and fingering my teacher has been trying to teach me for the last month. My song now sounds so much more alive and musical.

I am renewed, reinvigorated, and re-inspired. If you work long enough at something, and there is merit to the project, then, eventually, with a lot of patience, and the application of a few nudges along the way, things will eventually move ahead, like the two year old proposed legislation.

Maybe I should be thinking about what I’d want the 2013 Oregon Legislature to think about. Its never too early to start!

Neal Lemery 1/11/11