I have a pad of post-it next to my candle warmer. Before I retire to my bed each day, I write on a fresh note the things I want to accomplish the next day. At the end of each day, I peel off the note and throw it away. I do not hold on to a note just because there were unfinished things/tasks on it. Maybe they were not as important as the others. Maybe they were not meant to be completed in one day. Maybe they were not supposed to be on the list.
More than serving as a reminder of things to do, my list is a subtle prompt to myself that I am given a new slate every day to write my life story. The list tells me that it is up to me if I want to hold on to the things from the day that was or to start anew. The list shows the things that matter to me at the moment, and by implication, those that do not.
My list is both a hope and a promise. A hope that I can accomplish what I had set out to do and a promise that I will follow through. It is a ritual that is deeply grounded on stoicism -- You do what you can at the moment. You do the things that you can control. You balance your life's books each day. As the great stoic philosopher Seneca once wrote, "The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time."
No comments:
Post a Comment