So Much Luck and So Little Discipline

I just picked up my Saturday delivery from Abundant Harvest Organics. As I unpacked produce from local farms, I wondered how I was going to use it all, since I haven't even made it through last week's delivery.

This is a big contrast from the homeless shelter I volunteered at this week. The shelter survives on donations and dinners cooked by local churches. No one will starve, but it's not as if they have a huge variety to select from. They eat what's there.

One man, I'm not sure if he followed a Kosher or Halal diet, couldn't eat the ham sandwiches prepared for lunch. There was peanut butter and jelly. He declined. Maybe he had dietary restrictions and was allergic to peanuts, too, but his choices were limited.

There are several reasons I order from Abundant Harvest Organics. I'm supporting local farmers. The produce is all organic. I get more for my dollar. But it's the variety that I look forward to most. I consider it a challenge. So far, I've had to figure out how to cook turnips and beets--two foods I've never eaten. This week, there are parsnips. (I passed on the Daikon radish and gave it away.) It makes me think outside the box when it comes to my dinner menu. I'm not doing well so far, but I'm determined to become a better cook and more imaginative with my meals.

It's the same thing with writing. I am never at a loss for ideas. Right now, I have three active projects, two that are waiting for final touches or rewrites, and more than seven that are at least outlined in my head if not on the computer.

With so much choice, it's difficult to finish anything. Like last week's cauliflower that is waiting for me to come up with a new recipe, these projects don't get very far when I look at them all together. It's overwhelming. My efforts are fragmented. At least the writing won't decay in my refrigerator.

At the shelter, all food is dated as it comes in. They use up the oldest first, and that way nothing gets wasted.

Some of my writing projects have been stagnating for years. Maybe if I took the oldest and just finished it and sent it out, I'd have room for new, fresh projects.

Both dilemmas will get solved. It comes down to choices. Choose one thing and cook it or write it. Decide to be active and cook rather than close the refrigerator door and pick up easy fast food. Settle butt to chair and finish that story rather than start a new one.

I've got to stop getting overwhelmed and instead consider my luck. Look at all I have to work with, both in the kitchen and in my writing! I'm a very blessed woman.

My parish priest says it comes down to discipline. When I said I didn't have a lot of that, he just laughed and said it takes practice.

This week's exercise: Practice Discipline