As I watched the berries spill out of my hand, it was as if each of them said “serves you right!” on the way down.
Since I was a child, I loved the plunk! blueberries make as they hit my bucket and how they feel warm from the sun even hours after leaving the berry patch.
This time of year, blueberry bushes are so full you don’t have to hit many bushes to end up with a freezer full.
So when I went picking the other day and every bush could fill a bucket, I got carried away.
I picked a good handful, but before depositing my berries to my bucket, I went to get just one more…
But I couldn’t fit them all in my hand so I accidentally dumped the ones I already had.
Serves me right.
I only lost a single handful, and the bushes were full. But I kicked myself.
I kicked myself because it made me think of how this “just one more” mentality invades other areas of our lives.
Options can be a distraction instead of a comfort.
Having options should reassure us–when I’m done with this opportunity, more await. But options can also make us overlook what we currently have.
I feel this way with ideas, too.
I’ll pick a writing prompt and begin writing… only to start a new piece before finishing the first, even though my ultimate goal isn’t ideas. It’s finished pieces.
Instead of finishing what we start, we’re onto the next.
This goes for whatever you’re working on now.
There are always more ideas to try or projects to start. Your bush is too full. You can’t pick them all.
What you’re working on now has value, partially for the sheer fact you already started. It’s in your hand. Sure, you may need to pivot sometimes. But reject the temptation of “just one more” thinking.
The ideas, the projects, the opportunities–they’ll still be there when you’re ready. Take comfort in that.
To being better without only eating superfoods,
Elizabeth