The weather forecast for my zip code looks bleak.

Or it could. But I — either instinctively or as part of a long habit, or both — spin it as something to look forward to. “It’s going to be above freezing all next week!” I’ve adjusted my expectations, down and down, as the fall has deepened into winter.

This is how it has always been for me. I’ve always tended to orient myself to anticipate the future and toward better times, using the lens and the lamp that shows that future in the best light.

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Back when I worked six/seven days a week and had no life and no hobbies, I didn’t understand the benefit of taking time off.

I saw only what it would cost me; I didn’t know that, in addition to the obvious pleasures of rest and relaxation, time away would actually make me more effective in my work.

Now, I marvel at how taking an afternoon or a day or a week to completely disconnect from work will result in a surge in productivity, creativity, and satisfaction when I return.

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There’s a tension that I experience on a frequent basis. It’s between the necessity of slowing down and allowing space for reflection and growth, and the reality that the clock is ticking.

I don’t do my best work dangling by my fingertips off of a precipice. I need to be peaceful, grounded, and safe.

And yet these are the same conditions that can lead to complacency — to doing nothing and letting the time simply pass by.

It is easy enough to fill a day with meals, laundry, and a walk in the fresh air — maybe a bit of bill-paying, family time, or creative work. And the next, and the next.

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