Distractions
For better and for frustrations
Distractions come in many flavors. One of the reason I have trouble writing long-form, in either fiction or non-fiction these days, is the plethora of distractions available to me. The internet is a big one, yes, but also a kitten who wants to play, a husband who always unerringly chooses that moment to get chatty, a teenager who is simultaneously being clingy and fiercely independent… and that’s without getting into the laundry. On the other hand, some of the distractions aren’t all bad. I just finished up being involved in a naturalist challenge, where I spent three days (I missed the first day) trying to observe as many species as possible, then the two days following the observation period trying to identify other people’s observations (usually just confirming an observation, but not always). That was very fun, being out for hours with camera in hand shooting all manner of wild things. Especially as Saturday was a field trip, and I was out with ten people all geeking in the same way I rarely get to share.
Sharing a mutual interest is important. Not just to me, it’s a universal. I’ve been slowly reading through a book (distractions!) on depression and anxiety. I’m not agreeing with it entirely - his take on medication is too pat and dismissive, and the chapter on values is entirely a swing and a miss - but there are some very good points. His chapter on loneliness aligns with the research I was doing on that topic before Covid. The research that was one of many factors in our moving to Texas and finding our community, and even in my pushing through the Master Naturalist class in spite of my busy schedule. I needed to make connections, and they are very good for me.
We all need those connections. Even if they seem like a distraction, loneliness is a real danger to both mental and physical health. When you are alone, it’s easy to ignore the signals your body sends you until they become screaming alarms, and that may be too late. Irrevocable damage if not death is a result of neglecting your own body, and if you have someone who is looking at you - really seeing you - on a regular basis they can help you catch that. This is why married couples live longer.
One of the photos I took over this weekend of looking through the telephoto lens at the world around me was of a dragonfly who appears to be caught betwixt and between. Part of the exoskeleton from the larval stage is still present. It was flying, but not for very far before landing again. I suspect that the remnants of the shed will fall off shortly, but if not, the dragonfly will be vulnerable. There’s a metaphor there, and it’s not a difficult one to parse out. We can’t cling to the past, we have to grow and change and learn how to shed whatever is holding us back.
Which might be as simple as letting go of what you think life ought to have been like, and embracing what it really is. Distractions and all. Life can’t be perfect. Life shouldn’t be perfect. How boring would that be?
It takes perseverance to push through the thicket of distractions and find a calm space to order your thoughts. Like the dragonfly, you might not be able to get far before you have to rest. I know this post is taking longer to write than I think it ought, but typing around a purring kitten who has flung herself against my chest and is not accepting my moving her to her basket on the desk… this isn’t easy. It could certainly be more difficult, so I will take a loving Toast. For that matter, I’ll take the First Reader telling me stale jokes he’s found on social media. I know I won’t have him forever, this is him connecting with me, and of such moments are a life made.
We connect in so many different ways. The bonded pair of Scissor-tailed flycatchers I photographed near my home are joined by a drive for reproduction, a natural biological urge. Humans get that, too. Humans go far beyond that basic nature, however. We have friendships, we study one another through personal interactions. Heck, we even learn how better to human through reading fiction. I know I have.
Are these really distractions, then? Even the laundry and dishes are necessary evils. I don’t care to drudge around in stinky clothing. Besides which, the mindless tasks where my hands are busy and the brain isn’t offer opportunities for me to think. I sometimes come up with the best ideas while I’m doing routine housework. I’m not a brilliant housekeeper, though. I get distracted by the stack of books I’m trying to read. Or by writing down that thought before it escapes me again. Or by playing with the kitten and a paper mouse. So many distractions! So much life to live.
New this week:
The second of the episodes where we unbag romance novels and talk about tropes and laugh ourselves silly dropped. The BroadCast is NSFW, children, and possibly husbands, but it’s a lot of fun.
Space Marines is available now, in ebook and paper. I did the cover of course, but there are some good stories in here that my readers should enjoy.
If you haven’t read it yet, pick up Spots the Space Marine by MCA Hogarth to be delighted by a lead in a MILSF you won’t expect.
Friend and fellow author Holly Chism has a new science fiction title out, The Schrodinger Paradox: Cataclysm.
And remember to review Twisted Tropes, please? If you haven’t read it, there are some really great stories in this anthology, and yes, I have one in there too!
Speaking of Jim Curtis, he has a story in the Ross 248 anthology along with other friends and authors I know very well. Edited by the brilliant and very nice Les Johnson, this is hard SF of the best kind.
And speaking of Hard SF, The Moon and the Desert is out from brilliant scientist Rob Hampson, and I’ll hopefully make that a distraction from next week’s duties!
The TBR pile is entirely too large. At least most of it’s ebook so it can’t fall on me and crush me.
From the hike at Copper Breaks State Park
