The Cloud

I recently moved from a paper calendar to an online calendar. Now all the appointments and tasks and deadlines that I dragged around in my paper planner are now kept in "the cloud” where I access them from any device, any computer, any time. Putting my tasks in the cloud felt as though I was lifting these commitments up to a higher place, a puffy sort of cloud that follows me around.  And sitting on my task cloud is some Raphael-like guardian angel, shaking her head at this pile of tasks, saying "This is a train wreck waiting to happen."

And she’d be right. Life is really full right now. Well, it was full before, but now my work has changed, become more challenging, more rewarding, more time consuming. My lovely E is moving into pre-adolesence, which, depending on the day, fills my heart with love or my head with confusion.  Then there’s the stuff that never went away, the long commute, the dog-hair-infested house, the over due library books, the laundry that never makes it to the drier from the washing machine  -  add these same demands of every day life to the list,  and you have my dark and stormy task cloud.

Last week,  I was on a business trip to Chicago. The road to Chicago was a long one, there was a lot of work to do to make this event successful.  Even after I arrived, there was still so much to do. On the night of September 11, after working all day, I needed to grab some dinner and head back to my hotel room to work on a presentation for the next day. 

On my way back to the hotel, I ran into this wonderful puppet show.  Its the PuppetBike guy and he performs puppet shows from a hut he built over his bike.  I didn’t have to pull my task list down from the cloud to know that I had this presentation looming, work to do, yet I couldn't leave the puppets.  I stood there and watched and was warmed by this incredible peformance happening on the streets of Chicago. I became swept up in the creativity, the silliness, the laughter. I became part of their joy. 

Filled with happiness from my new puppet friends, I went back to my hotel room and worked on my presentation. For inspiration, I played Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run album over and over and gazed out at the view of this beautiful city. It was Sunday night, I was away from my family and finishing what felt like the 100th huge project in a week. And I was full of joy.

I scroll down the list of my tasks and realize that they are just that, tasks. What matters is how I do them. I can choose to blow through my life at a fast speed, getting things done and checking them off my list. Or, I can pay attention to the way I get those things done. I can slow down and let myself be touched by the silly, the beauty, the wonder that crosses my path. I can choose to find joy. 

Here is a part of the fun of the PuppetBike!