Another Monday after a busy weekend. My social, emotional and intellectual skills have all fizzled out. Not a good time, probably, to take a look at major life goals and try to fit them into the skinny slivers of time sporadically available to me in my ordinary and sometimes hectic life. Most middle-aged women these days have just a little bit too much going on. The “sandwich generation” I’ve heard it called. Where you’ve got a bundle of kids – a mix of different ages, interests and personality quirks. A time when you finally admit to yourself that the household chores are here to stay. A time of life when your aging parent needs a little more help and appreciates your company. A time when you wake up and realize over half of your life on this earth is spent, and you find yourself wondering, just what have you got to show for it — not so much what you’ve got on the outside, but on the inside.
The nagging question is, “Have I used my talents well?” If not, why not? Where’s my self-motivation, my sense of purpose, my challenge which brings renewal? All the ideas, dreams, hopes and visions, instead of lighting the sky, stay heavy on the ground around you.
Lead ducks I call them, and I’ve got too many of them laying around. Maybe you know what I mean: the unfinished projects, the undeveloped talent, the unenergized body, the character flaws still unconquered. The wanna-be’s and gotta-do’s that used to fire and inspire, are silent, stifled and packed away in some long lost hope chest. All the while, lead ducks honk and ruffle their flightless feathers, taunting and tempting you to settle for less of a life. Can lead ducks fly? Sure, but first you’ve got to get all of your ducks in a row, as the saying goes.
Acknowledge and name them. Prioritize them. Decide. Which ones need to get airborne? And just how do you get them up in the air?Nothing short of a catapult will do. Design it. Draw up the plans. Customize it. Your life, your goal, your personal situation is unique, so make this machine fit you and your needs. Gather the materials and start pounding away. Create your own catapult suitable for lead duck launching.
Catapulting a lead duck – as in all lead duck tossing — requires clear decision fueled by burning desire, and necessitates discipline. Growth in virtue is always the king pin of this moving machine.
