80/20: The Vital Few
The holiday timer is ticking, and I should be springing into action any moment. But this has been a harsh and heartbreaking year. I know I’m not alone in craving some simplicity, softness, and peace.
How about you, my friend? Does it seem hard to muster the energy to bring this year to a festive close? Is anything helping you to stay present and open-hearted in this small season?
In observing the microseasons, I try to remember:
We are always living in a small window of time.
Life is in perpetual motion, and life is never static even when we can’t perceive the changes.
Time as a predictable and linear thing is only a fleeting illusion.
The Vital Few
These busy weeks before Christmas have me considering the Pareto Principle. Sometimes called the 80/20 Principle, it means that roughly 80% of my enjoyment comes from 20% of the things I do. It’s also known as the law of the Vital Few.
I like thinking about which activities are vital for me, my loved ones, and the community. The key is to decide what’s on this short list of activities, and then to do them with great Love.
I feel a rush of energy whenever I make myself just begin. Go ahead. Make that very short list of the essential 20% of things that hold the most meaning and joy for you in this holiday season. See if reading the items on this list lifts your spirit. If not, if you feel tired or guilty, revise the list until it’s right for you.
Stop hesitating.
Do this work until you feel
the delight of it.
In the trying is the desire.
⌘
—The Cloud of Unknowing by Anonymous, 14th century
We’re all living on a planet in continuous motion; our lives unfold in continuous growth and change. In our bodies, cells are dying and being reborn moment to moment. New thoughts, ideas, inspirations, sparks, are always available to us.
So why do we feel stuck if we are always moving?
Living in the microseasons reveals a truth: We never arrive. We can never say: I’ve completed all the microseasons. I’ve seen all the things. Because time is circular, seasonal, gravitational, ever-spiraling toward the unknown. There is only now.
We can experiment with ways to stay centered in all this moving—steady while walking through the microseasons of our lives. Lately, I’ve been finding new wonders and new ways to flourish.
Currently: I’m taking faster hikes, longer yoga sessions, and short power naps. All of these work to offload the physical stress I accumulate while caring for patients in my clinical work.
Right now, to rest my mind, I’m doing less writing and more reading. It’s been an ongoing pleasure to enjoy two excellent series right here on Substack: Nathan Slake’s Brae’s Meteorite and Ben Wakeman’s Harmony House. Both of these are offered in small bites—organic, handcrafted fiction—both are made with the utmost care.
For my spirit, I’m practicing two ways of mindfully reading poetry with others: Brian Funke’s Memory and Paul Swanson’s Lo-Fi & Hushed. Each of these communities is a quiet space to experience the power of words to inspire, heal, and challenge. Each is led with kindness and the earnest desire to explore how this platform might reach new levels of healthy community.
I hope you’re tending to yourself in the midst of this season of giving and doing for others. As always, I’d love to read your comments and get to know you better.
I’ll see you in a new microseason,
—Ann
Ann, I know how you are feeling, having recently gone through the same thing. All of your tools sound ideal, and yet I doubt they feel that way to you. You are showing up, walking through your days, and taking the steps to heal. Thank you for sharing your encompassing list of lovely things that are getting you through.
80% of the enjoyment comes from 20% of the things we do. That pareto principle is interesting. I've seen it in the business world but it's quite another to see it in how we spend our time.
Productivity vs peace is the same. The writing thing, is new to me. I work in business. Inspiration comes in fits and starts. But always begins in peace.
The product is the by-the-by. Substack is a great home for the flow. Thanks for your thought provoking piece.