Doing things at the right time.

We feel we have no time to create, to exercise, to work, to play and yet we have the same time available to us every day.  Some days are productive while others feel like we have lead weights tied around our ankles, unable to motivate ourselves our mood changes, we get frustrated, irritable and grumpy with our seemingly impossible situation.
This morning I lit my fire. I did what I always do, made paper sticks, took some small wooden sticks from my box of kindling, laid a single fire lighter in the middle of my wigwam shaped construction, struck a match and used the flame to light the fire lighter and some of the paper.  I watched as the smoke coiled and twisted its way upwards towards the flue.  Effortlessly smooth it just streamed upwards, unhindered - doing what it must do - the same route it always takes - up and up and up the length of the chimney and out through the chimney pot higher and higher, up and up.
The time it takes for the process to go from smokey beginnings to roaring, cosy fire varies each day. On a windy winters day it's effortless as draughts make combustion so much easier.  So, on calm days it takes a bit more effort, and a bit more time as I use all sorts of techniques to ensure the fire reaches it's potential.
If the chimney is blocked and needs cleaning this too will affect the time it takes to get my home cosy and comfortable.
Knowing that sometimes I will need to take longer to get my fire lit is fine - I'm prepared for that.  I know that some mornings there may not be any kindling in the box in the kitchen, so I'll need to do that first - there's no cutting corners when it comes to lighting a fire.  If I go to my kindling box and see there's no small pieces of wood left and I just sit down, get annoyed and try lighting it without them, at best it will light after several goes with enough  paper and fire lighters, but if I just take some time to chop some big wood into kindling sticks, ultimately the process will be a lot less effortful.
When you feel you have no time to do the things you want to do just STOP for a moment.  This morning the smoke coiled its way effortlessly up the chimney because all the conditions were right, the same is true of you. Some days, after a good restorative sleep you waken feeling energised and positive about all the things you will be able to do today, and you bound through your day achieving all you set out to do. On wakening after having a later night than normal you may feel sluggish, or less focused, and that's okay too! Get up, eat, do what you have to do and relax in the knowledge that this too will pass!  Even having a quick cat nap for up to 30 minutes in the day is fine - because you will achieve much more, with much less effort if you do what you want to do feeling refreshed and focused.
Now I must go and chop a log up into kindling sticks...that fire won't light itself tomorrow morning!
"I try to do the right thing at the right time. They may just be little things, but usually they make the difference between winning and losing." - Kareem Adbul-Jabbar