Tag: greater focus

Just One Thing

~ boydwilsonpat ~ Leave a comment

I read this article the other day that said everyone is better off to focus on just one thing. The idea was to figure out what your main thing is and to make it your highest priority. At first, I thought the article was pretty good and offered a good idea especially as a writer. I could put all my focus on writing and make writing my highest priority. As the kids would say, “Not!” As I wrote down some of my writing goals, I realized there was so much more on my life’s agenda than just one thing. I can’t even identify myself as just one thing. Sure, I’m a writer, but I’m also a wife, a mom, a friend, a teacher, a motivational speaker, a grandmother, an in-law, a believer, a daughter, a historian, a student, and a pitch hitter for a number of causes such as Alzheimer’s Disease and care providers. This list is not in the order of priority, but each one is a priority.

“Just One Thing.” I continued to think about this all week. How could anyone prioritize just one thing? What would happen to all the other things? Would this kind of myopic focus make you great at the one thing or cause the one thing to be more excellent than the other things? How would you choose when everything is an important thing? Is there anyone in the world who focuses on just one thing? I’m not sure if I’m just being too literal (or dense) in my thinking or if the author was oversimplifying his thesis. Perhaps an interview is in order.

PBS had a wonderful series on the life and achievements of Walt Disney and his brother, Roy O. Disney. (Truly,, worth seeing, check it out on YouTube) Needless to say, Walt Disney was some type of genius when it came to creativity and seeing his dreams come to fruition. He would never give up on an idea that made his craft better or more excellent regardless of cost or lack of support. Most often it seems others could not comprehend his ideas and inventions. Many thought he was a little crazy and declared Walt’s ideas would never see the light of day, but he stuck with it. As they say, the rest is history. So, was Walt Disney one of those people who prioritized and focused on just one thing or was it just one thing at a time? Afterall, Disney’s feature movies did not evolve into Disney World around the globe in just a few years. As I follow his life, each success led to a new evolution of ideas and inventions. His dreams grew with each accomplishment along with the many people it took to make it all happen.

Walt Disney’s life work seemed to be just one thing, but history would argue as to whether it was his only thing. From the information that is available to us Walt Disney was a devoted father to his daughters, Sharon and Diane. He took them to school and spent the weekends with them. He also allowed them to come to the studios. I bet they got the first of all the Disney toys. (Just a guess on my part.) He was married for forty years to the same wife, Lillian, unusal for Hollywood then and now. He and his brother, Roy, worked closely together and appeared to have a close-knit relationship. Some would say if Roy had not found the financial backing, Walt’s dream would have died as just a set of good ideas. Walt also appeared to have countless friends and relationships with people in the industry and among his employees. No doubt it was a hard balancing act, but somehow, he was able to manage his passion for the one thing with his love for many things.

I guess if I had to choose “just one thing.” I’d choose to be a good person. I don’t want my passions to outweigh my convictions that everyone deserves respect even if I disagree with them. I don’t want my skill sets to become such a matter of pride that I overlook those who are still learning. I don’t want my goals and dreams to so engulf me that I’m no longer available to the people I love and who love me. I don’t want my focus to have the kind of blinders that make me not see others and not be willing to lend a helping hand. I don’t want my priorities to be only about me because I can’t accomplish anything without the support of others. My “just one thing” is to be a good person who lives out her faith in every arena. In the end, I think I’ll accomplish more than “Just One Thing.”

“You can design and create and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dreams a reality.” “A man should never neglect his family for business.” – Walt Disney

Peace with a broad focus on community,

Photo by Rick Han on Pexels.com

Miracles in the Mundane *

~ boydwilsonpat ~ Leave a comment

            I have always had some disdain for pat sayings like, “Don’t forget to smell the roses.”  First of all, there were no roses in the concrete courtyards where I grew up.  There were also no roses in the deep south where my relatives farmed from sunup to sundown.  So even if I didn’t forget to smell the rose, I couldn’t find the roses.  Yet now, so many years later, I have learned to appreciate such sayings.  Using mental exercises and developing defense mechanisms to overcome and defeat depression, I have learned to smell the proverbial roses.  I call these exercises looking for miracles in the mundane.  

            Looking for the miracles in the mundane started with me noticing how well and whole I felt out in nature.  This is also when my amateur hobby as a photographer began.  Little things that often go unnoticed by others gained my attention.  Questions about those things brought them into greater focus.  Why does that tree’s leaves turn golden in the fall while another tree’s leaves turn red?  How long do turtles swim in the lake with only their little heads at the surface?  Why can’t chickens fly, after all they have wings?  I began snapping pictures of everything that intrigued my curiosity. (Visit the gallery on this site to few a view of my pictures.) Thus, came thousands of pictures of roses, not proverbial roses, but real roses. 

            As I traveled the states fulfilling my bucket list to spend time in all fifty states, I made botanical gardens one of my “must-see” destinations.  Through the camera lens I discovered all roses were not the same.  Their shapes were different.  Their colors varied, and their scents were not the same.  There are so many varieties of roses, and each of them have their own unique characteristics and features.  With a little research, I found out that new roses were being introduced all the time.  Botanists crossbreed certain varieties to develop yet another type of rose. 

As if all these roses weren’t enough, I began to find bugs and butterflies in my photographs.  In Chicago, I found birds in my pictures.  In Alabama, I got sidetracked by waterlilies which lead to ducks, geese, and swans.  Since I’m naturally curious (my kids say my best gift is interrogation), I began researching what birds are indigenous to Georgia.  This started a new hobby, amateur bird watching.  I have photographs of cardinals, robins, woodpeckers, peacocks, geese, a variety of ducks, yellow warblers, blue jays, trashers, and hummingbirds.  Of course, I still don’t know why the males are so colorful while the females are brown or gray.  I suppose it’s a way of protecting the mothers from predators, but I like the idea that the males have to sport their wears to attract the females and keep their attention. 

In nature, one thing always leads to another for me like the pattern of river water flowing over boulders; the snow melt flowing down the mountain side; the colorful fall leaves from tree to tree and state to state; the ebb and flow of ocean water, the beauty of a moth or a butterfly; little brown rabbits eating my mom’s garden plants; baby deer frightened by their own shadow; squirrels playing chase in a nearby tree; pigeons having a parking lot scavenger hunt, and my dog snuggling next to me to chase my blues away.  These are all miracles in the mundane. 

Every day we walk right by miracles:  wildflowers growing on the hillside, children laughing and playing, an elderly couple looking passionately into each other’s eyes, a prism of color in a puddle mixed with motor oil, a lizard sunning himself in the driveway, the brightness of a full moon, the pictures in the clouds floating overhead, and our own reflections in the mirror.  The miracles in the mundane help us to remember there really isn’t anything mundane. 

The mundane is in our way of thinking.  If we allow ourselves to lose interest in the world around us, we miss the miracles.  If we allow ourselves to be thrill seekers, we reduce every miracle to something boring and monotonous.  This becomes our loss.  The best things and people around us go unnoticed not because they are not there, but because we have closed our eyes to the mystery and wonder that surrounds us.  So, here’s my suggestion, “Don’t forget to smell the roses.” 

  • Reprint from DeKalb Voices Review, 2023 with revisions.