Priorities 1 Through 1,000

Everything is a priority and everything cannot be a priority.  There is no one other than me (read: EGO) making myself crazy for not completing the millions of tasks on my to-do list. 

Earlier this week, when my dad commented about my workday being complete, I laughed out loud.  I said, “not really, but I’m stopping.”  He wanted to know if I had checked everything off my list for the day.  Not hardly, because for every item scratched through, two or more are added.  Can anyone relate?

Remember the days when we actually finished work at the end of the day?  I’ve worked from a home office for over 12 years and I’m still not good at walking away from my work.  Often I have to force myself to stop, or to take a break.  Just one more call, one more email, one more detail, because all of it should have been done a week ago or maybe last month.

My ego has me believing the “should have” and the “I need to” thoughts.  Should have written that report.  I need to finish my overdue time sheet, schedule next week’s appointments, book the next two trips, send a card, pay a bill, the list goes on ad nauseam.  My ego is slick when it comes to perpetually playing the catch-up game–and is merciless about stoking the flames of self-importance.

Here’s my major takeaway after yet another week of exhausting intensity–my only controllable priority is praying for knowledge of God’s will for me and the power to carry it out.  In spite of my ego’s convincing arguments, all else can wait until that one particular priority has been met.  Each day.  Every day. 

Scheduling prayer and meditation time–writing it on the damnable list if necessary–is my only hope for remaining sane amid life’s insanity.  I emphasis the “my” because I only know what works for me. 

Ironically, when I began writing B Here Today five months ago, I thought I’d write fairly exclusively about the minutiae of daily living because from everything I’ve heard over the years, those are the details that are most likely to cause me to drink again.  I’m not ready to discount the theory but I find it interesting that there has been some pretty major stuff go down in the last five months–stuff way bigger than daily minutiae.  And I’ve stayed sober, not as a conscious effort, but more likely because of the prayer and meditation thing.

I kind of like being sober.  So P & M will continue to be Priority #1 on my daily list.

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