Quote:
Monday, December 15, 2014
You are reading from the book Today's Gift
Great symphonies begin with just one note.
—Priscilla Young Pratt
Sometimes it's really hard to get going. We put off things we don't want to do, or are afraid to try. We occasionally feel overwhelmed by the size of a job to be done like cleaning out the cellar or reading a long book for a class.
But think a minute. If Beethoven had thought about how complicated it was to write his Ninth Symphony, with all those instruments and voices and notes to blend together, do we really think he would ever have started? But he didn't get overwhelmed. He sat down and wrote just one small note, and then another, and a third. It took him months, but writing one note led to a second, and, one note at a time, he completed it.
We begin the same way with whatever tasks we have ahead of us. Each tiny bit of progress helps us go on to the next part. We begin by reading one page of that book, or taking one box of junk from the cellar. That's all we have to do. The rest will follow almost on its own. The trick is to begin.
What needs to be done today, and how do I start?
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My first thought was put one foot in front of the other. I got my laundry on my walker, but never got it out the door yesterday.
In truth, I did get out a bag of stuff and went through it today. I didn't do it all. That in itself is good and a big step. Things don't all have to be done all at once as the reading says. So I started yesterday, and will do more today.