Of Fluff and Journeys by Angel Young

Well - the truth is I'm a bit mixed about completing stuff. This stems from a moment of tiredness after my university finals, having trudged through too much Charles Dickens, Chaucer and other greats of the English language - a feeling which became almost a vow - not to continue reading books which are not fun or interesting to me, even if they are worshiped by others. It's good to not feel the obligation to complete everything. Liberating! 

Then there are things that do need to be completed - a quilt for my friend's new babe, a cushion for my aunts, a painting for my friend - these things are full of pleasure!

Then there are projects which may be completed, like my novel. My cousin, who assisted with some Danish research in 2007 for this doesn't quite believe it, but my feeling is it's just taking a bit of time.... And I'm ok with that. 

Then there are things that I can't seem to find a way through. That need time to stew. That are annoying and frustrating. That make me cross. It's really hard to step back from those projects. To know when to push and when to walk away, or at least let it rest. Patience, for me at least, is hard won. I'm still working on a solution to this, trying to trust my intuition. It's all I can hang onto in these moments. Stepping away now....

Finally there are wonderful, hard won completions - that feel amazing, and even in the hardest parts you can enjoy the journey. I guess that is the core of it - the journey itself needs to be rewarding, it needs to have a bit of zinginess about it. Those are the paths to really follow. Those are the paths that have a destination. Other projects are steps on that path, but focusing on the projects that speak to you, regardless of what anyone else has to say will ensure the things that need to get done are done. And that's enough for anyone. The rest is just fluff so you can let it go! Liberation is the key here, and of course, not to be too cliched, the journey is the destination so love the road!

Angel lives in the UK, and is proud of canoeing 460 miles of the Yukon river in Canada this summer. Then you really know the journey is the destination!