The Yellow Door Life

Daily writing prompt

Do you need a break? From what?

View all responses

This writing prompt is almost comical. Do you need a break? Well duh. We all do. Most of us forget to take regular breaks. We have the gas pedal plastered against the floor all the time. With all the tasks we MUST accomplish the notion of a break is foreign to us.

So yes, to answer the question, I NEED a break and I need that break from my to-do lists.

I googled “where did to-do lists come from?” and this is what AI told me:

So thanks a lot Benjamin. I suppose though, it’s just our nature. We want to have control over our chaos. How do we do that? We put the chaos on paper in the form of chore charts, to-do lists, grocery lists, notes in planners, and more.

I would like to take a break from them.

I would like to wake up and not have an agenda for my day (or an agenda slide). I would like to simply explore the world around me and let the universe tell me what is most important for me to accomplish that day. I don’t want to think about the bills that need to be paid, the lessons I need to plan, the stuff I need to order for my classroom, the pile of mail I need to go through, or the laundry that needs to be put away. Do I need to clean my bathroom? Why yes I do, but I also need to go on an adventure.

I need to be surprised at the way a stranger can make me smile.

Or how a random song can come on the radio and remind me of someone I miss hundreds of miles away.

I need to see the daffodils starting to make their early, spring appearance at the base of trees that will outlive us all.

I want to run into people at Wal-Mart or

Stop by the church to spend time with God in prayer or

Sing so loudly at a stoplight that someone nearby cracks a smile or

Get on the road and drive anywhere; no destination, just driving or

Simply sit somewhere in the sunshine and think about possibilities.

I’d like to take a break from my to-do lists so that I can just be.

Be here.
Be present.
Be alive.

The to-do lists will always be there and they will never be done, so

I might as well take as many breaks as I need.