Carolyn A Pappas

In general, I am a serious and responsible person. I also tend to be a perfectionist, and perhaps care too much about things that don’t really matter in the big scheme of things. This can be a problem because I feel that I’ve been working hard on all the little things but not having the energy to spend on the Important Things, like designing the life I want. I found this post that highlights what can happen when people get too worked up in the minutiae of their daily life and lose sight of the big picture.

With that in mind, I’ve decided that I spend far too much precious time and energy on time wasting activities, like facebook, email and yes, even reading blogs. I am subscribed to so many blogs that I can’t possibly spend the time necessary to actually read them. This leads me to feel guilty because there is no way that I can keep up. I am going to do some serious editing of my time spent online. I am also going to try an experiment. For the rest of May I am going to post here on a regular schedule, every Saturday and Wednesday. I hope this will allow me to plan my time more wisely.

This will also give me more time to spend on some Other Things, like cooking dinner, going to the gym and working on some of the projects that I have been putting off. I have a lot of art projects that I want to begin but don’t want to blog about for the time being, mostly because they are gifts for people that read this. I have a feeling that decluttering my life is going to be a good thing.

If your looking for some inspiration on this topic, you can check out these resources:

Zen Habits is the creation of Leo Babauta. It features a lot of practical articles on personal habits, financial health and family life.

The Art of Living by Epictetus features a lot of short articles on various topics to do with Life. He is the only Stoic philosopher that I care for.

The Art of Non-Conformity is owned by Chris Guillebeau. According to his own description, “This site features unconventional ideas for remarkable people. I write for artists of all kinds, entrepreneurs, and anyone interested in changing the world. If you’ve ever felt like “there must be more” to life, this is for you.” It is worth checking out.

And finally (because what’s the point of creating the perfect life if life itself is meaningless) I’m listing The Book of Ecclesiastes. This is the Bible’s answer to the questions “Why bother?” and “What’s the point?” You really need to read the whole book to get the impact, but I’ve found it to be very relevant to this era. Plus, it is a fabulous piece of literature even if you don’t believe in Christianity or Judaism.

Note on the image: I made this self portrait while at Snow Farm, on Tuesday I believe. It is charcoal with red and white hard pastels (like conté). I doesn’t really look like me but I really like the tri color effect.