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Your Life is Your Story, Issue #186 – The Urge of Urgency September 30, 2021 |
| Greetings "Your past is your story up to now. The future is the story yet to come. The present is where you live with that experience, your hopes and your dreams." 
Your Life is Your Story Newsletter September 30, 2021 Issue #186 – The Urge of Urgency From Tom Gilbert – Editor and Writer, www.your-life-your-story.com In this Issue: Opening remarks: A September to Remember Featured Article: The Urge of Urgency Featured Resource: A Magazine for Grandparents Opening Remarks: A September to RememberSeptember is wrapped up. Thirty days of all kinds of events, happenings and memories. For me, it has definitely been a September to remember.The month started with students returning to school. I teach fifth grade and at my school we actually started August 11. By September we were starting to get our rhythm, but it hasn’t been easy with kids who spent a year and a half at home in remote learning. We also had the Labor Day holiday, the 20th anniversary of 9-11, Grandparents Day, the Autumn equinox and the arrival of Fall, and ongoing challenges with the Covid pandemic and some extreme weather. Additionally, I’ve been in contact with people interested in some family history related to my great grandfather, Fred Gilbert, a world champion trapshooter at the turn of the 20th century. The month certainly hasn’t been dull! Thank you so much for being part of the Your Life Is Your Story community. Thanks to all our subscribers. I hope you enjoy this month’s issue. You are receiving this e-zine because you signed up for it or someone who is subscribed passed it along to you. If a friend DID forward this to you consider subscribing by visiting our signup page . Also, let me know what you’d like to see more of in this newsletter – simply reply to this email e-zine. – Tom Featured Article: The Urge of UrgencyBy Tom Gilbert - Copyright © September 30, 2021The urge of urgency can cause you to lose sight of your priorities. Do you know the feeling? Things that come up throughout your day that demand your attention. The social media notices, text messages, and voicemails. The chores that need to get done. Deadlines to meet. That “itch you have to scratch.” If you are like me then you have a lot going on. Many irons in the fire. Sometimes too much to do with too little time. I admit it, I tend to put more on my plate than I can sometimes handle. But with good intentions, I try to do a lot of things that I feel are important. I am a school teacher and right there is a job that is very intense and time consuming. Oh, but what joy it brings when the eyes and minds of young people light up with discovery and new knowledge. To help facilitate that I have to do a lot of research, lesson planning, documentation, communication to families, and quality time with students. It’s hard and often there are things that come up that seem very urgent, but might not be the next right thing. When working on life stories it can feel overwhelming as you make memory lists, look through photographs, letters, and find the time for the writing. Again, it is easy to get distracted. I have learned that sometimes the urge of urgency happens because I am overwhelmed with the task I need to complete. So the “urgency” is really an avoidance. An excuse not to stick with the hard work at hand. At other times the urge of urgency is simply trying to be responsible to meet the needs of others. That’s not a bad thing. Except when the effort to do all things for all people is more than you can manage. Sometimes it is the right thing to say “no” or “not now”. Having other people in our lives who can be sounding boards, coaches, mentors, helpers and just good friends can often help us deal with the urge of urgency. Think about that when you feel like it is all too much for you to handle. Having a professional assist you with your personal history, life story or memoir can help you prioritize and also get some help when the urge hits to go off in many directions at once. You can read other life story articles here. Featured Resource: A Magazine for GrandparentsI am a grandparent and it is one of the greatest gifts of my life. My wife and I have two young grandchildren, an eleven year old boy and a soon to be nine year old girl. We are proud and involved grandparents, known to our grandkids as Nani and Pakin.Grandparents are important in the lives of their grandchildren and their adult children. It takes a delicate touch and balance for how you stay involved, careful about advice, generous with love, and patient with both generations as you pass along your life lessons. Nobody has all the answers. However, I have found with each issue of GRAND Magazine a lot of inspiration, helpful advice, and fascinating stories from other grandparents. Here’s the link to the online version: here. Closing InformationThat’s it for this month’s issue. Thanks for reading. Be sure to visit our blog regularly, and here’s to telling your story. Do give it some serious consideration because I just know you’ve got a great story to tell! Be sure to see the Get Started section.Any comments, ideas or feedback is greatly appreciated. Just reply to this ‘zine and tell me what you think! Until next time, – keep your story alive! Tom Gilbert |
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