Getting It All Done

This feels about right today.

6:21 am... It never happens. You never finish wiping off the kitchen counter. look around and say "Sweet, there's nothing left that needs to be done." Sometimes, if you're a list person like me, you do manage to cross the last thing off of a list. The problem is that there is always another list.

Most will just shrug their shoulders and say, "Yep, that's how it is" and then go about their never-completed tasks without another thought. Heck, that's what I do most of the time, too. But there are days when the struggle catches up with you, or someone close to you, and you can't help but wonder what the hell it is that we're tying to achieve. What's so damn important that we can't just stop for a day or two and catch our breath? Why do we find ourselves running on the hamster wheel of life? What end justifies it for us?

I'm asking the question, because I really don't have the answer. Don't get me wrong, I have answers. I just don't have The Answer. Maybe somebody does, and maybe they'll read this and reply with It, and the stars will align, and I'll march cheerfully through the rest of my life without questioning. That would be sweet. Right? For now, just plain answers will need to suffice. The short version of the answers is that we are motivated by both internal and external factors. The expectations placed on us by our culture play a big role. If our job is to hunt for food to nourish our family for the day, then once the hunting is complete we can relax and do something enjoyable. If the culture demands that we constantly work to keep our heads above water, swimming in a system which, by design, demands continuous output of services or goods deemed valuable, in order to keep from drowning. Well, then that's what we do. It's simple really.

Oh, yeah. What about those internal motivations? You remember. The voices that say "Write something fun" and "Go down to the park and enjoy the cool Autumn weather." We have to pay attention to those, too. Whenever we have time for them. Whenever we don't just fall into an exhausted heap at the end of the day, knowing that five or six hours from now the alarm goes off and the whole sordid circus begins anew. Yeah, those things, they're important... Happy Friday... Enjoy the lazy kitty pic... 6:40 am...