Posts tagged Reflection
A Quiet Week
Oct 13th
The week of being “technically unemployed” has been going well and I’ve had a chance to spend a lot of time with the wife & kids. You probably won’t hear much for another few days as we are ramping up for Coders 4 Charities.
If you haven’t volunteered and have the time, please visit the site and sign-up. I will be working on a website upgrade for the Violence Prevention Center of South Western IL. We’ll post some before & after shots when it’s all done. Our goals are to provide the staff with more content management capabilities as well as an updated look and feel to the site. The director is very excited to be one of the nine charities we will be helping out this weekend.
Check out the news article which features our very own Kevin Grossnicklaus, one of three St. Louis community members awarded with an MVP in October!
The Empty Mind
Jun 28th
When I was in high school I spent quite a bit of time studying martial arts and some eastern philosophy. Some of the concepts taught are truly counter-intuitive to what the we in the west are used to. Our minds are truly the most powerful tool in existence. Minds can also be very busy. Quieting the mind is perhaps the most difficult but rewarding skill to master.
In addition to my day job I also am consulting with my previous employer on their new web site and other technology matters. I have two kids, a wife, a house and I think I can honestly say just about every minute of my day can be filled with things I need to do and even some things I want to do. Since my son was born in May I have spent the majority of my time with my 2-year-old daughter, working, or traveling to LLF seminars. Most of us won’t argue with some extra income but the fact of the matter is that there is a point where the money and the time are not reconciling.
Today I had some real bonding time with my son. He fell asleep in my arms and I sat back in our easy chair (for a 6 week old that is probably as much bonding as you can get…other than changing diapers). The first impulse was to think about all the stuff that I ’should’ be doing. The dishes. my time sheet. the kitchen floor. I need to call someone about our siding. Finish the remaining administrative sections for LCLS’ web site. And on, and on. I did this for about 10 minutes when I finally had a little moment of clarity. The things I need to do are all written down in a notebook with my work bag. They aren’t going anywhere. I decided for the next 15 minutes I would do absolutely nothing other than provide a comfortable spot for my son to sleep. He slept and I actually zoned out for a bit myself.
My wife came over to see if I wanted to set him down on the couch to let him sleep. Often times this backfires but it seems to be working for now. Which leads me to this post.
What if I could do this on command, whenever I needed? What benefit could I see when I’m struggling with the next gray area in a new architecture or trying to achieve a little balance? Sometimes when things are at the most hectic a little clarity may go a long way.
I use music a lot in daily activities and I think I’ll give this a try. Music already helps my focus and I think in combination with an empty mind it could really help give my brain the break it needs to solve the next problem.
