Too many things

Sometimes I get this feeling that there are too many things to do. I don't know which one to focus on. I feel like pulling my hairs with both hands on my head and go, "Arghhh!!!" Ever felt like this before? In the end, you find out that you've done nothing for the day.

Relax! Calm down! One thing at a time... Ask yourself, what is important? Do the most important thing first. Reminds me about the story of a professor who filled a jar with golf balls and he asked his class, "Is it full?" They went, "Yes". Then, he took some marbles out and filled in the gaps between the golf balls and asked his class again, "Is it full?" The class went, "Yes" again. Then, he took out sand and filled in the jar and asked the same question, they went "Yes, it's full!". Then, he took out coffee and filled the jar. The class laughed and they knew it was full this time. He asked, "If I had put in the sand first, will I have space for the golf balls?" The answer was, "No".

The moral of the story is if we focus on the minor things in life, we won't have time for the bigger things. So focus on what is important and not the minor problems that get to you. If we spent too much time on the minor details, we won't get to fill up our time to aim for the stars or the bigger picture.

In one of my favorite movies, "The Last Samurai", there was a fight scene. The hero was learning to fight and lost because he was thinking too much. The advisor told him, "too many minds, one mind" Yes, focus on the important things and voila, he started to show improvements and gave a better challenge to the opponent.

I think I should do the same, calm down my nerves, look at the important stuff and just do it. In my past experiences after a year, I guess I do eventually progress without noticing. My mentor once told me of a story of a man who carried a baby calf when he was young. Daily he carried that calf till it turned into an ox. When someone saw the man who carried an ox, they didn't believe it. It was years of weightlifting and as the man grew so did the weight. It did not happen overnight. It's just like weightlifting, start with smaller weights, add as your strength grows.

Lastly, when there are too many things and it seems overwhelming. Stop, calm down, relax! Focus on the important things that matter and if all else fails what matters most was done. The clock maybe ticking but if we blend in with the time, we synchronize with the events. Be one with the force and have peace accomplishing one thing at a time. I think that's what Yoda meant in Star Wars, "Be One with the Force!" Get things done, one day at a time, one thing at a time!