S9EP5: Challenge Accepted

Hey, gang! Welcome to my life – where anything is possible and nothing is as it seems. I’m Freedom and I’ll be your host, coming at you from within the depths of Geistopia.

DOC: Velcum To My Life ees a prochect, un experiment in Life unt ART. A living storyboard, if you will. Its premise ees zat life ees experiential, unt zat you can, unt do, experience ze life you choose. It ees based on Ze Veel of Life unt Ze ARTs for Ze New Millennium as life building tools. Ja, it’s true!

WALT: Welcome to my Life is an I T.V. Studios/Geist…House Players Production, in association with the Center for Creative Inspirationalism. JustUs Productions, the parent company, would like to give a ‘Shout-Out’ to the following for their ongoing, and oft-times unknowing, inspiration and support:

Princess Cuddlebug

Princess Sunshine

Company

The Shaman

The Pillar

F’n Bob

The Entire Putt-Putt-Putter Clan

The Warden

FaeriePrincess

Professor Siggy Chong

Sparky Wentz-eclaus

The VanMan and General Ralph Glossop, and Craze (may they R.I.P.)

The Messengers of The Galactic Federation

Looch

The Bassett Hound

Bert-On

The Baker of the Cornbread

Andy Pandy

The Mudder

Zason

St. Diane & You (3)

Brother John & Sister Jen

Spooky Queen

Boom-Boom Snuffbox

The Nameless One

Tim-Bo

The Cousins

The Rox

PDT

Sir Richard Slouch

The Wix-ians

The Socialite

The Village of Idiots

Piz-Niffer

Dancing Queen

Downtown Encyclopedia Brown

Chicken Witch

Dick Pointer

Soup, the Son

The Legendary Pink Elephants

Baby-Mama Rabbit

Wisconsin Belle

The Babes

Aaaand, of course, a very generous sponsor who (not-so-much) wishes to remain anonymous.

It is…Sunday, March 5, Two-Thousand and Twenty-Free. Time...Allowing

Theme – Focus & Discipline

WALT: You should have named this one, “Johnny’s Two Balls.”

I thought about it. Focus & Discipline. These are definitely two areas I need to keep tweaking because they are not currently working for me. I don’t think there is much more to be said on the matter really. It all speaks for itself. Focus & Discipline. Define them how you will, fellow travelers, for the are merely self-relevant. I am currently tweaking my definitions to make them work for me. [But, I definitely need to focus on Focus & Discipline.]

Lesson – Patience

This has actually been on the docket for about two weeks now. But, by the time I get to writing I have thought of any number of other Themes, Lessons, and Observations and it gets forgotten. [It almost got forgotten again this week.] It came by way of a card in an incense pack. It read, “Be patient – Everything comes to you in the right moment.’ I needed that reminder. I mean I see it. I see it every day. Sometimes in the smallest ways. Still, I stress and I worry and I even panic from time to time. I think, also, my impatience is what created my financial woes of last week. I am pushing a little too hard to get certain things done or get my life to particular place. I need to just relax and let it unfold. Slow & Steady Wins the Race.

Observation – Tweak it Till it Works

And then tweak it again. This was the topic of a late-night conversation with Big Boss. We were actually discussing a personality trait that we share. When either of us do something we work it. Then we tweak it so it works better. Then we tweak it again and again and again. We tweak it until we can’t anymore and then we have a workable, productive system and routine. I saw this in so many areas this week. Sometimes the tweaking isn’t about getting something done but just getting through. You tweak the plan. You tweak the budget. You shift pieces here and there. You re-prioritize. You tweak your life every day. The Goal is to Tweak it Until it Works…for you.

The Post

This one could be short and sweet, Fellow Travelers. To be honest, most of the week is Once Upon Ago. Not to mention, most of my writing and creative energies are ‘focused’ on this special project.

It was an intense week. Very powerful. I do not know this by any moments I can recall but, instead, by how I feel Right This Moment. It was nothing bad. It just…something.

I came into this week off of the wake of my financial disaster last week. Even with all of my tweaking, including shifting my rent payment, I still began this week negative. Negative enough to pay, yet, one more overdraft fee. [That’s a total of like $224 in like 8 days.]

Still, I managed my week. I worked and got things done and managed a little of this and a little of that. At the end of it all, I find myself going into tomorrow a whole $6+ ahead of myself. This may not sound like much. But with the way things have been going this year so far this is quite a milestone.

This is the first time all year that I have managed to start a week balanced instead of behind myself. Of course, to manage this, I needed to tweak. I borrowed ahead. I had The Theatre pay me in advance for next weekend. This didn’t really ‘fix’ anything. All it really did was shift the balance of what happens when.

Without this tweak I would have started tomorrow about $100 behind myself. I would have pushed to balance it all out, only doing whatever I could actually manage and maybe paying another fee along the way. I would have gotten through my week but still found myself a step behind myself at every turn. The pay would have served as a band-aid to maybe make it not so bad starting out next week.

With it, things have just shifted slightly. I can go into next week balanced and on track. The money I make can actually be spent and put to use right away. So far this year, every week I have spent Monday and Tuesday just trying to balance out my deficit and cover any necessary expenditures. Finally, around Wednesday, I have money that can actually be spent and is covered.

This coming week, my money can be put to use immediately. I can just do what I need to do when I need to do it and not have to tweak along the way. I have already [briefly] mapped out my week financially – what is coming out and when. I have looked at each day – what must be covered, how much I can make, and what is left afterwards.

I am still facing a deficit going into next week, but there are so many little factors that could shift Just Enough to greatly minimize the gap. All I can do is take it Day by Day. Each as it Comes. And see how it all turns out in the end. But, at least I can do it with a little bit of hope instead of the weight of desperation on my shoulders.

As I said in The Trinity, I must really being myself around to greater focus and more discipline. This is not just about productivity and earnings. I mean, it most certainly applies in those areas but it is not limited to them. It includes being focused and disciplined in regards to downtime as well. Or even productive moments that are not financially related. Basically I need to be Focused and Disciplined in my approach to Balance.

Earlier today I went to make the bed and found a chunk of tooth in the bed. I mean, with my dental condition that is no great surprise. But I don’t know when it happened. I never felt any pain or discomfort as I usually do. I’m very well aware of when a break is coming. But I felt nothing. And I have explored my mouth as best I can and everything seems to be in order no different than it has been. So the tooth chunk makes me very curious.

My next thought was, “Well thank G-d I didn’t swallow it and choke on it.”

WALT: That’s what she said.

Alriiight!!!

The dental thing was a definie Theme this week and the source of much frustration. I don’t really want to write on it at the moment. It is What it is What it is. There’s nothing I can do about it at the moment. So all I can do is make the most of the situation and be as positive as possible.

The Theatre has hired yet another new dishwasher. It’s the son of a woman I know. I haven’t actually met him before. Nonetheless, he starts next weekend. I train him next weekend and then I am done. [For now.] I know my association with them is never quite done. It is definitely a part of my life. I don’t mind being there or helping. It just can’t be my life the way it was before. I can’t do it like I did before. Still, it is bittersweet when they don’t need me at all.

I am plugging along with my special project. I’m not quite getting the interest in it that I would like, and it has been discussed to possibly move it back a few weeks. Still, I like where the material seems to be going and how it is [slowly] coming together.

That is pretty much my week.

Oh…except for vegetables.

Everything comes in it’s time. Right? Well this was true for vegetables. Some time ago, Brother John gave me 2 pot roasts. I have been waiting to make them because I needed to get veggies to cook it with. I was originally planning on making one of them this week but I wasn’t going to the store until Tuesday and I wouldn’t be able to make it until Wednesday and then it comes to the weekend and the girls are here and I will let most of it go to waste. So I thought about waiting.

I thought about it, that is, until Lil boss loaded me up with leftover potatoes and carrots from dinner service, as well as broth and onion mix. So, I will now be making it tomorrow.

Anyway, I have what looks like a fairly smooth and easy week ahead. Bills are minimal this week, thought there are always things for me to take care of. The schedule is easy. I have The Meeting Place on Tuesday night and then the girls come this weekend. Other than that it is work, work, work.

The post title is in reference to life. I accept the challenge to be more focused. More disciplined. To make the most of what is before me and move things forward.

This is going to be a challenge

If you’re not already there, go to the Welcome to my Life Facebook page – WTML. Or the YouTube channel – WelcomeToMyLife08. You can also find me on Facebook under Rev. Matt.

Wherever you are and whenever you are – Like, Comment, and Share – we’re on a Journey and it takes you to get there.

So, without hesitation, for now and for always, from here in Geistopia, this is your beloved Rev…

WALT: And Walt…

DOC: Unt Doc…

JOHNNY: Aaaaand Johnny…

And those guys, saying, “Stay Tuned-In, Fellow Travelers,” and wishing you Peace, Love, Light…

WALT: And Freakishness, Baby.

The Totems & Archetypes

**from Ted Andrews’ Animal Speak**

Heron - The Call of The Quest and Travels to Legendary Places.

Reflects a stimulation of the childhood thrill and belief in legendary places. [The story(s) we most loved in childhood often reflect the life quest we have come to take upon us in this lifetime.] Can also aid in communication especially through the use of stories. Individuals wishing to write can facilitate the process by working with a goose totem. It will stimulate the creative process and help to move through creative blocks. Also a symbol of fertility and marital fidelity. May reflect a need for more vegetables in the diet. An ability to move forward or backward. Reflects movement. A call to the spiritual quest. It reminds us that as any one individual makes his or her quest, it becomes easier for others to do so as well. We should not undertake any quest in life without having a full view of what it entails. Opening to new possibilities. Affix ourselves to a new path. Great fertility that should be acted upon if growth is desired. Greater vision, physical and spiritual, will occur. Can reflect that you are about to break free from old childhood restraints and begin to come into your own. You can expect to have the imagination stirred toward new travels and distant places - whether in the body or in the mind.