Autumn time thoughts

Autumn is one of those times that I enjoy and dread. I love the cooler weather and the fall colors on the trees. October is a welcome relief after months of being cooked during the Utah summer. The only problem that I have with autumn is that it is followed by winter. Utah winters aren't usually terrible, but they are cold and I don't enjoy freezing temperatures. In spite of that, I seem to experience a brief slow down as the activities of summer stop, but the frantic holiday schedule kicks off.

The first weekend of October is usually when I get more reflective. The church I belong to has its semi-annual general conference, where we can listen to a number of our church's leaders. I know some of my reflection comes as I listen to the talks given by our leaders. I tend to think about how well I've done at living what I believe in and where I can improve. I tend to come away from it with some thoughts on where I should focus my efforts. I will also spend some time thinking generally about how I'm doing and what I would like to be doing.

This is a newer habit for me. Perhaps it's an outcome of learning to (try to) plan my where I want to take things. In the past, I've normally been too busy trying to keep up with what is going on and just getting by. I appreciate the thoughts from these times because it feels like I'm not making everything up as I go. I at least have a few ideas about what I want to be working on. Some of these include increasing the depth of my relationships with Shannon and the kids, staying focused on my writing time, and some thoughts on how to increase my relationship with God.

However, I have to act on these thoughts and impressions if I want them to have any impact on life. That's always the kicker. Thinking and planning is good, but action is where the magic happens. Without action, it's just an exercise in navel gazing.

This year has been a year of really trying to put some things into play and make them happen. Staying focused on something is not easy for me unless it's something that is broken or has a hard deadline. That's one of the reasons why I've not written with any regularity. It rarely has a deadline attached and nothing breaks if I stop writing. Here's to staying on target and working steadily on my dreams and plans.