Sometimes when my mind is racing, I have to jump on this blog and write about it. It’s calming for me. I apologize in advance for my short, choppy sentences. I’m having to think in chunks at the moment.
The next hour is the last low-key 60 minutes before a week of adventure begins. It’s all good stuff, but it’s a lot. This is the calm before the storm. My mother-in-law is currently en route to help Todd with the boys while I’m away this weekend at BlogHer. I’m speaking on bullet journaling. I fly out tomorrow around noon for Orlando.
But before that, I’m speaking on The Art & Power Storytelling at the Western Women’s Business Center conference being held tomorrow morning in Asheville. I’m beginning that talk with a few quotes. Here’s one of my favorites.
“A day will come when the story inside you will want to breathe on its own. That’s when you’ll start writing.” -Sarah Noffke
So, tomorrow morning I speak at one conference in Asheville then fly to Florida to speak at another conference. To clarify, I’m not a highly-sought-after speaker. It just so happens the two conferences that asked me to speak fall at the exact same time.
Meanwhile, I’m working on content for three different websites and have also partnered with some folks to develop a video journalism platform promoting the greatness of our small town. Oh yea, tonight we’re filming episode number 2 of that. It’s called Talk of Haywood.
Brooks is at LEGO camp right now. I pick him up at noon, so after dropping him off, I came to a coffee shop in downtown Asheville to work. Like I said, I could feel my brain spinning and I needed slow it down through writing. Writing and visualization exercises help me reign in when life feels like a whirlwind.
I’ve been following Hal Elrod’s Mircale Morning steps for a little while now and one thing he suggests is visualization. Apparently, productivity is increased when a person visualizes how the day transpire. I’m finding his theory works.
Right now, I’m visualizing myself spending time with my family until 6:00 pm at which point I’ll go film episode number 2 of Talk of Haywood. After that, I’ll come home, spend some time with the boys, finish packing and print my handouts for tomorrow morning’s talk. Then I will diffuse essential oils (Stress Away, Lavender and Cedarwood), read a little in my book and fall into a deep sleep. Tomorrow, I will wake up at 5:30 am, make some coffee and review my notes for tomorrow morning’s conference. I will then load my car and get dressed. I envision myself speaking at the conference and hoping attendees walk away with some helpful advice. I will then drive to the airport, park, lug my suitcase to the correct terminal, board the plane and finally…breathe. I can’t visualize any further than that right now.
I’m grateful my work and my passions are one in the same and that these opportunities have opened up for me. But I also feel a wee bit overwhelmed and sad about leaving the boys. Thank you for letting me decompress with this blog post, but I better sign off so I can get more work accomplished and pick up my boy on time. Talk soon!