Shutter Sisters

tunnel vision

By

I’m feeling pretty unfocused these days. It’s a busy time of year and I am being pulled in many different directions. And yet, I haven’t said ‘no’ to any new commitments. So I have nobody to blame but myself for feeling overextended. When I start to feel scatterbrained and flustered, I have to force myself to compartmentalize and focus on one thing at a time. There needs to be a balance between seeing the big picture and zeroing in on the task at hand. The photo above seems like a pretty acurate representation of that balance. My eye is drawn to the end of the walkway, and yet I still notice some small details along the way.

Do you have any photo representation of the way you’d like to be operating right now? It could be calm, joyful, organized, motivated or slow-paced.

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Comments

  3. this is a constant struggle for me–saying no and feeling okay about it! today is my day to attack the ever growing to-do list and take a little time to get out and have some fun, too!

  4. This year has been a big change in our family – only child off to college, so we are empty nesters, I "retired" from my retail job and am now home a lot more. I am finding I am enjoying it quite a bit. I am doing a little freelance work on a local furniture store's facebook page, allowing me a creative outlet. Now I have the time to do the things I really want to do and take classes like Tracy Clark's Art of Composition. It is amazing though once people know you aren't working how they want you to volunteer to "help out" with everything. I have come to this point in my life so that now I can do the things I really want to do, not be a Sunday school teacher just because I don't work and they "really" need them.

    http://sarah-huizenga.blogspot.com/

  5. i think my photo in yesterday's post represents how i feel…..

    knowing that winter is coming and fall won't be long enough. knowing that it's time to put our summer toys away and feeling sad that we don't love our winter toys as much.
    knowing that comfort foods need to found in the cookbooks, since hamburgers on the grill in another month just won't be happening.

    i love fall…but somehow my thoughts go beyond this season and tend to dread what comes next……

    http://moredoors.blogspot.com/2011/09/before-its-too-late.html

  6. I'm very goal-oriented, so can get overwhelmed at times. This month has been quite a bit of getting-into-the-swing-of-things and getting-ready-for-the-next-few-months kind of month. Today starts my busier-than-heck schedule with lots of photo shoots, lots of editing, and more of my regular day job than last year, in addition some workshops and traveling. Whew! This requires me to look at things one piece at a time:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/koreenphotography/6177962264/in/photostream/

    … in order to get to the big picture:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/koreenphotography/6177431731/in/photostream

  9. My life feels so chaotic at the moment, I'm really looking forward to my fall retreat coming up at the end of October. When I return it will be the one year anniversary of my first personal retreat into silence and solitude and my fifth retreat total. Taking these retreats quarterly help me to live in rhythm with the seasons and mentally rebalance the stones of life i feel responsible for keeping stacked. This image was taken on my summer retreat and the balanced rock project was new.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/leanne8790/6178311870/

  10. I love your story line for today, and as soon as I saw it , I thought of a couple of photos that I took up at my peaceful cabin a couple of weeks ago from my "crow's nest". That is my name for my big bed which is upstairs in a loft and looks out at a mountain ridge, just above the river which runs past my cabin. A great place for meditating, photography, and writing. Anyway, your article today prompted a blog post from me today. These pictures are definitely not "advanced photography: but are my attempt to capture a personal vision of a way I want to look at things in my own life. something I saw while reading a book by Natalie Goldberg. so hope you enjoy this link, and everyone have a great Saturday!!!!http://thebutterflymetamorphosis.blogspot.com/2011/09/magnify-your-life-vision.html

  11. Boy do I relate to being over extended. Today, I decided to just play…I am going to the Movie, "The Help". I really had to think about going since it is 2 hr. 40 min. that is a big chunk of time to give away. I hope it will calm me and help me focus when I do get to work. I love your website.

  15. what a fun & instructive exercise. I am feeling weighted down by all of the to-dos on my list. when I read your question, "how would I like to feel?" I knew immediately which image I had to go work on.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/22487105@N06/6180722281/in/photostream

    I would love to feel less burdened and a bit more buoyant. and since I put most of those to-dos on the list. it's totally in my power to take a few off and do so. thanks for the reminder.

  19. The way I would like to be operating right now is:
    In unity, as a team. One supporting the other. Stronger together, grounding and firm. Like a puzzle in which each piece has it's own,
    perfect spot, perfecting the big picture. Like a puzzle in so much as each piece truly matters and plays a crucial role in the overall outcome.
    If one piece is missing, everyone experiences the hole left behind.

    We are at a time of great discord and isolation in my place of work currently and everyone is working against each other, instead of together.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrsmaynard/6185731122/