Finding Time & Focus

I realize that Jane Austen was single and her family had servants, but I’m still amazed how she was able to work around her social engagements, child-tending (of nieces/nephews), yet still produce several novels—all before the age of fifty. It’s said she wrote down snippets when she had a few spare moments.

As I approach fifty, I only wish I had Miss Austen's dedication to the writing craft. Admittedly, I work a full-time job, but I have no children. I’ve never had persistence in writing; lately, I’ve had little focus for any extended intellectual activity—movies or books. I’ve been able to exercise regularly, up to an hour at a time. But the only reading I’ve accomplished recently involve magazines and newspapers—and not The New Yorker, either…..mostly women’s, animal and self-improvement periodicals.

Right now, I’m listening to music videos as I pen this blog entry. Rarely do I even listen to an entire CD any more. Perhaps I feel the burnout of my last Master’s degree, even though I finished this a couple of years ago. Maybe it’s the “change before the change.”

After decades of dedication to thought, perhaps I’m just ready to pay more attention to the physical. Moving certainly chases away dark or anxious thoughts better than thinking….at least in my experience.