The Messy Truth

Change is good. It keeps us from growing stagnant and pushes us forward. It keeps things alive and fresh. In a world of stale ideas we need alive and fresh. It is with the thought of change in my mind that my musings of late have centered. I was ready to change things up a bit, shake the tree some and see what fell out. The Mess is doing great and the readership has more than doubled over the past year. I thank all of you who have kept coming back to read what has filtered from my brain to the typed page and hope that you continue to do so.

As we took a look back last week, this week we look forward. Most people make resolutions that they will break before February, because, well, that’s what we do. We determine to make goals because we want change, but then decide it’s too much work and fall back on bad habits. Last year it was my Get Fit goal that bit the dust. However, this year is going to be different.

Remember the old question, “How do you eat an elephant?” The correct answer is one bite at a time and that is the problem with resolutions. We get excited and attack the new goal full force and burn ourselves out. I decided I was going to walk more and so I set out at a quick pace to surround my neighborhood with my footsteps. Five minutes in my calves were burning and breathing that of a two-pack-a-day day smoker. It was too much all at once to attempt a 45 minute crusade to fitness. My body wasn’t prepared nor was my mentality.

To gain a new habit you must move in slow steps and build up to the finished project. To reach my goal of walking, I start with fifteen minutes, then move to thirty, and then finally hit 45 to 60 minutes a day. My body gets used to the activity it has not been faced with before and my mind can adjust to the new attitude that laziness is bad.

It’s the same with any habit you want to change. Over the past month I have had a desire to be better organized. If you saw my garage you would think I have failed miserably, but I’m saving that for last. It’ll be my crowning achievement in the organization department. However, I have made some great strides in my writing files, picture files, and am currently working on my music folders. The key for me was to start with one project, see it through to the end, and then just keep it that way once it was organized. That’s the problem with the garage. It never stays clean and organized once it’s had a thorough going through. I blame the girls. They blame me. The 9 year-old says it isn’t her. It’ll get there. That’s what I keep telling myself anyway.

It’s going to be happening at the Mess this year, as well. Change. I want a new direction. I want a focused direction. It was funny. As I was thinking of changing things up, a new journey in my head, a friend wrote and said she had an idea for me. She had noticed that in all of my writings - the blog, short stories, even Reaping the Harvest - there was a theme of advice shared from what she called a “father figure.” Of course, she was quick to say not a frumpy old man type wearing a sweater, but more of the wise owl variety. I didn’t tell her I was wearing a sweater like Mr. Rogers when I read her suggestion. Yet, it was what had already been in my mind. My life has undergone several changes over the years. I’ve failed in some areas and succeeded in others. I’ve grown. I’ve discovered truths that have helped me through this journey and have developed a peace within that I want to share.

Matthew Krause, in his video review of my book, started me thinking along these lines. He said that The Mess that Is Me is really the mess that is in all of us. So in 2014 I want to share my Mess with you, the things I have learned through the years that have brought me to where I am now. Hopefully there will still be humor. I’m too much of a smart ass for there not to be. However, hopefully we can all find our Messy Truth that brings a calm harmony to our lives. The Mess will be taking on a more serious tone and on the Facebook page I’ll be sharing daily Messy Truths that I hope cause you to ponder and contemplate your course through this thing we call life.

I hope you’ll take this journey with me and enjoy this change. I’m excited about it as are the girls, because in getting Messy, we can come clean with ourselves.

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