“I’ve got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom.”
– Thomas Carlyle
I’m exhausted—damn tired—from keeping a pace that would leave Jeff Gordon in the dust. But I’m not bored. Far from it.
Just tired.
My list of to-do’s is a doozy. I know you’re there in the cage with me, singing with the other caged birds, dodging the black and white cat, trying to warble a song that people will remember. Will they walk away humming, or listen for a lovelier tune?
Many times, even I don’t like the song I’m singing.
I flutter my wings, take flight, and slam full-force into the wire, hoping to break through.
And fall to the ground.
To sleep…perchance to dream.
A new day.
To write…perchance to dream.
I’m exhausted.
Peace,
ML
M.L. Swift, Writer 
So much to do, so little time…
Go Mike!
Rest up, dude. But yes, better to be tired than bored any day.
There's gotta be some happier medium in there somewhere between knuckle-scraping tired (where I am)and drool-generating boredom! Keep it up and get a smigeon of rest! 🙂
Take care of yourself. Exhaustion is never a productive mode. But I know you've been doing a lot of writing and balancing of home stuff.
As they say: Better to burn out than to fade away.
If exhaustion has laid claim on you, then allow rest to free you. Work the Zzzzzzzzzzzzz. Unplug, unwind, enjoy.
Ah, the best kind of exhaustion…
Ain't that the truth!
Mike going is why Mike's exhausted! Thanks for the pep talk, Al! :o)
I got a good four hours…:o)
You still have knuckles?
George McDonald (who? I dunno…some quote I read, though) said, "It is our best work that God wants, not the dregs of our exhaustion." And that's how I feel. I totally chilled yesterday…wrote a little and saw I was pouring out dregs, so quit for the day. Nice little break.
Who says that? Who's they? They need to pass me the burn salve. :o)
Thanks for the inspirational advice…which is exactly what I did! I unwound over a marathon of "Monk" last night.
And the best kind of waking up, is Folger's in your cup!
It's like a conveyor belt. It just keeps comin' at ya.I finally said to heck with word count and took a nap.Hope you can find time to rest.
Whoa! Who sucked the life out of Tweety? 🙂
I love that quote. My list is pretty overwhelming and I don't have a job right now. It will get busier. But, I love it.
I'm getting better at embracing the 'stuff doesn't always get done' philosophy, but I have my lapses. Sometimes I listen to guided meditations and hypnosis recordings (after years of laughing at the whackos who meditate). There's some that are targeted to creative writing, so I feel like I'm being productive even when I'm trying to slow down. Although sounds like your tv-fest was a suitable meditation, I like that method too.A friend told me our productive life is like a pyramid, we can have many many interests, goals, plans (home, career, hobbies, health, family, romance, etc) but we can only fit three things on our 'to do' pyramid at any one time, and only one item can ever be at the top. We can turn it around from time to time, and swap items, but that's all that fits. That helped me because I'm always loading on challenges (not just writing) and now if I slack off on one I can feel okay because I know it'll get its turn when I'm done with whatever's at the top of the pyramid for me now.
Swifty,Waaa…you sound like a pilot. The only thing that whines more than a jet engine is a pilot. Which reminds me…Sounds like you picked the wrong week to quit smoking….Maybe you picked the wrong week to quit drinking coffee…It might be the wrong week to stop drinking five hour energy…Bad time to quit amphetamines….You picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue…Ha Ha…I love that movie.Rob says, If you don’t get some sleep soon I am going to take you to the hospitalSwifty asks. A hospital! What is it?Rob states. A big building with patients, but that is not important right now.What a great movie. Now stop watching gladiator movies and get back to work!
Thanks, Melissa. It is. Finally, I decided that I'll do what I can do, and what I can't, it must not be time for. To everything a season…
I know exactly how you feel. I've tons of things on my to do list and it just seems to get longer instead of shorter. Tired is the word, but never bored:)Nutschellwww.thewritingnut.com
Ha!
Isn't it great? I was torn between that one and the one I quoted in Julie's comment. Yeah…I zapped out between overworking and usual duties.
Charmaine -Thanks for coming by and leaving such wise and inspiring thoughts. This is the type of conversation that I always hope my articles spawn around here.A good chuckle over laughing at the whackos who meditate. My life in California introduced me more to the meditative and hypnosis side of life many years ago. I still do that in times of stress; as a matter of fact, I've been in a trance most of the day! LOL!Yes, vegging in front of TV is very therapeutic for me. I don't have to think (yet I still instinctively critique the shows) and can just chew on them like bubble gum.I absolutely love the pyramid analogy. Love. And agree with whole-heartedly. Although it feels like it all needs to be priority one all the time, I've learned to do what I could and let go of the rest for the time-being. My biggest problem was actually fitting in the rest. I'd go full steam on one, move it down and replace it full steam with another. Then do it again. I realized I'd never last long at that pace.So after making this post, have chilled and meditated. And I'm big on breathing exercises, too. Thanks again for such stimulating conversation. :o)
Rob, that's one of my absolute favorite movies! And quit calling me Shirley.Yes, it was the wrong week to quit making meth. :o)And I don't watch gladiator movies…well, except for 300 and Spartacus. :o)
Nutschell! I always like it when you swing by…gotta cruise my arse up your way again soon. So little time, but I do what I can. It's a bottomless list. :o)
The right breathing exercises can wake you up as well as relax you. Of course, nothing beats good ol' stage 4 sleep. And hey, kudos for slipping in the Shakespeare reference, but then again, you could have done that one in your sleep.
Joseph, I appreciate that you always get my little references and nuances that I subtly throw in there. Maybe not so subtly. :o) I had a teacher who really inspired me to study Shakespeare…she loved him. "Ol' Willy," she'd say. One of those wonderful teachers that is my answer when someone asks, "What teacher inspired you the most?" I was lucky to have several of those.I'll get over by your place. I saw in my email that you wrote on the roasted bird. Loved it…