donkey and monkey mind.

sunday, january 15th, 2023.

Y'all, I feel a little called out. I just stumbled upon Derek Sivers' "Don't be a donkey" and I realized that my annual goals are all over the place. I'm juggling wanting to hike, wanting to garden, wanting to get back into painting, wanting to read more, wanting to meditate, wanting to journal and write more, and...

Yep, I have a problem.

Many evenings, the indecision of what to do with my time paralyzes me and I wind up goofing off on my computer playing some computer game that doesn't bring me any closer to any of my goals. I'm sort of self-flagellating, thinking of all the things I want to do yet starting none of them.

It's nice to have a name for this longer-term version of monkey mind, though.

Have I set myself up for failure with all of the goals I've made for myself this year?

Is it possible for me to focus on, say, two or three things?

What are those two or three things?

CGP Grey has a video out about new years' resolutions that I've cited before: "Your Theme." Perhaps, instead of an annual checklist of things I'd like to accomplish, I need to side-step my donkey & monkey mind and focus on a theme or aesthetic for the year.

I think the aesthetic that suits me this year is something akin to Gandalf, or the hermit inside the album Led Zeppelin IV. Something about the hooded wanderer deeply tied to nature really grabs me.

Now that that's settled, I think I'll grab my walking stick and go for a hike.

Until next time, be well. :)