Windows of Opportunity

Windows of Opportunity

As I write this blog, my “to do” list is a mile long.  Some days it just feels downright overwhelming and I feel like I’m spinning my wheels going nowhere!  To Do Lists on; closing down the big business, getting all the systems in place to recreate the grassroots herb business, and of course the multitude of house chores that have been neglected for 2 yrs when I moved in, dropped my boxes, and ran off running Bearcamp Botanics.  Well I think I have found a way to combat this “to do” list.  The idea comes from a book I  recently began reading by Richo Cech called “The Medicinal Herb Grower”, and that is to prioritize activities according to the doctrine of “windows of opportunity.  This idea really hit home since I work with plants everyday.  Plants don’t know  “human logic”, they only know how to operate in energy systems that are so much more efficient.  After a long exhausting weekend playing 4 Nutcracker’s and 4 Messiah’s, Monday morning arrived.  Armed with my “to do” list in hand I set about my day thinking I really should just try this window of opportunity thing.  So I thought, what presents itself today that is my one window of opportunity to get done?  This led me to walk into my skeleton herb garden.  It was a nice balmy day of 64 degrees in December and I knew it was going to be in the 30’s the rest of the week.  I noticed some really nice tip cuttings on the sages & lavenders just staring at me saying “come on this is your window of opportunity no matter how crazy it seems to be doing this activity in the middle of December!”  So I proceeded.

The payroll taxes can be done Wednesday when it is a cold 30 degree day.  Working in this system of opportunities seems to be so much more efficient and productive.  For example, instead of stopping to wash dishes in the middle of the day, could they wait a few hours in the sink until I’m standing there waiting for my dinner to cook?  I shall quote a paragraph from “The Medicinal Herb Grower” by Richo Cech since he puts this so eloquently.

“Working within windows of opportunity supports sanity.  We do one thing at a time, ideally keeping the mind on the task at hand in a kind of working meditation.  Every task is another opportunity to do things right, to contribute, to serve.  Taken in this light, the long list of “to-do’s” has little power to compromise our happiness.  In my imagination, the completed tasks line up like a family of ducks waddling in a line across the green lawn of abundance, splashing one after another into the placid blue pond of “done”.” 

Time to go find my window of opportunity!