There are always more things to do than time to do them. Winter gives good reasons to slow down and investigate the internal world, to sort out what is important, what we want to spend our time doing, examine our activities and reevaluate or reconfirm our goals.
When setting goals, it’s also important to look for the joy in the steps along the way. Identify ways to measure progress, and remember to savour each moment as it occurs. Taking pictures is one of the ways I use to track progress. Each time I try different settings and see how they alter the image that is captured, I learn other lessons. Focus, perspective, framing. They all have a role to play in the everyday tasks.
Watching birds at the bird feeder from my “office” window at home provides a peek at the social life of some of the winged members living in my neighbourhood. There is a steady stream most days, more than the number of perches available, but they are polite and patient. For the most part. The blue jays tend to be more aggressive when it comes to taking their place on the feeder. There is also a red squirrel who visits, and has a favourite perch to sit and eat seeds. And everyone flees when the crows start to squawk and settle on the electric wires along the side of the road.
