Notices by Nathan Lowell (he/him) 📎 (nlowell@zirk.us)

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

Slow starting, a cold engine that doesn't want to turn over and spark into life.

Going back to bed is no option. Once up, I'm up. Nothing to do but make the best of it.

I've things to do, books to read, walks to take, meals to fix. Stuff that needs doing and none of it will happen until I do it.

But gimme a few minutes to just sit and blink myself awake.

I hope you can take the time you need to prepare yourself for the day ahead #today

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

I need to catch up on a dropped task from yesterday. The day closes before I've done all I wanted to accomplish.

So I'll start the day playing catch up after I get the morning's foundation built. Getting off on the right foot, feeling like I'm square with the world.

I don't overlook the past, striving to accept it with all its warts, while keeping an eye on the future.

But I can only do one day at a time.

I hope your day goes well #today

sung through naked trees
spent upon the frozen earth
winter's rage dies out

#DailyHaikuPrompt

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

The to-do list was already long but keeps getting longer. I've put it off as long as I can. I'm going to have to do some things before I get buried.

Again.

It's part of my cycle.

I used to get upset by my procrastination. Now I just see it as the ebb and flow. Sooner or late this day comes when I start at the top of the list and just rip down through them.

Tomorrow I'll start adding new ones again.

I hope you can get whatever you need to do done #today

winter, cold and dark
yet sliding toward the light
little bit each day

#DailyHaikuPrompt

crunching under foot
walking on dry winter grass
not enough snow yet

#DailyHaikuPrompt

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

I'm slow to fully wake but up and moving with a couple of hours until dawn.

A chilly morning, but not brutally cold. I will get out for my walk when the sun gets up to light my path.

A quiet morning, nothing much on the docket for the day. The quiet house noises barely noticeable.

A day to hug my loved ones and be grateful for the small pool of calm that starts most mornings.

May you find some modicum of calm in your hectic day #today

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

2 hours till sunrise. The quiet feels loud.

Lots of things I might do later when the sun gets up and the household wakes. My task list will keep me busy most of the day. Now it's my time, for however long I can hold onto the peace.

The tasks will get done in good time. Some, this morning. Some will hang around until tomorrow. Or the next day.

For now, I'll work on holding on to my sense peace as long as I can.

May you find some peace in your day #today

frozen breath rising
argent moon in sable night
skating on the clouds

#DailyHaikuPrompt

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

I'm hoping for a low-key day.

We're still recovering from the holiday disruptions caused by the remodeling. Drapes that need hanging. Walls that need minor repairs.

But all of us are exhausted. Worn down. Left with little by way of reserves. Short tempered.

Not the first time. It will pass.

We just need some time. Some sleep. Perhaps an interlude of peaceful quiet.

And patience. Mostly patience.

May you find enough patience in your day #today

creek frozen over
pale crust holding up the snow
just a hollow shell

#DailyHaikuPrompt

onions in my soup
adding sweetness to the broth
perhaps some barley

#DailyHaikuPrompt

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

A distracted day in spite of a good night's sleep.

I can't seem to maintain focus very long before some new idea washes the old away in a swirl of "How come?" and "I wonder."

At some point I'll get to where I can deal with the day's wood and water. I think. I hope.

Luckily very little on the list, beyond braving the elements for a 2 mile hike around the neighborhood.

May you find enough focus to do the important work in your day #today

the calendar changed
but time's ticking never stopped
didn't even pause

#DailyHaikuPrompt

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

A day to keep reminding myself to take a deep breath. To stop.

Just stop.

I have things to do. People who depend on me to do them. Getting pulled into Charybdis offers no advantage over the shoals of Scylla.

Sometimes the best thing to do is keep sailing. In these troubled times, it seems to be the only thing.

But a breath takes a moment. Or maybe two. To stop. Wrest my focus inward before putting hands to tiller again.

Breathe deep #today

pulling on the tides
rising in crystalline skies
wolf moon in winter

#DailyHaikuPrompt

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

Yesterday's task pile dealt with. Much less on my plate this morning. Mostly it's about getting the year up to a sustainable speed.

I'm working on trying to get a comfortable, sustainable pace on my days that allow me to get my writing done without pulling out what little hair I have left.

Sunrise in about 90 minutes. A walk in the cold after breakfast. Perhaps some baking this afternoon.

I hope the pace in your day isn't too frenetic #today

no snow on the field
winter's frozen fingers slip
on a lack of ice

#DailyHaikuPrompt

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

My tasks have piled up on me. Again.

I do this periodically. Let things slide until I'm facing an avalanche of Things That Must Be Done.

The Pile of Doom.

Truth is, it works for me. I've got a full morning lined up and, if I'm careful and manage to stay aware of the clock ticking away the day, there's plenty of time for all of it.

A day of shifting gears and requiring attention.

My your attention be as focused as you need #today

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

At some point, I may retire. It took me half a century to get here. I don't see much sense in hanging it up now that I've finally gotten to the place where I can do what I've always wanted to do.

Maybe that's the definition of retirement.

My blue collar background always defined it as not going to work everyday. It meant retreating from the world.

As if work was the only meaning.

Perhaps it is.

May you find meaning in your life #today