It's an ADD World

Once upon a time, I believed that ADD was caused by a chaotic home environment, that it wasn't something in the brain which wasn't the same as those without ADD. I was raised in a chaotic home environment, and my life has continued to be very busy, in part, because of the ADD. But I have learned it is unlikely that the ADD was CAUSED by how I grew up. While the brain is most definitely the cause of this "situation", the world around us really doesn't help the "situation". There is the weather: global warming brings us 40 degree days with nearly an inch of rain, and the next day, near zero wind chill and blowing snow. The bombardment of information, of new techo challenges which I don't even try to understand or learn, is enough to cause multi-fragmenting of personality if not ability to accomplish even one thing on the to-do list of the day. The mail brings too many subscriptions to even think of reading in a month, and email is a plague even for those of us without professional attachments that surely quadruples the obligation. There is endless need in the world, from the world's most impoverished to the desperate mom who needs cookies for the bake sale. How do we manage?

The only way I've found to survive this heavy leaning on our already busy minds is to push gently back. Even if we don't accomplish much in a day, to keep the blinders on and pointed at those few things which absolutely must be done today. My grandmother (who passed away at 100 five years ago) had one phrase posted on her frig door and the words were, "Do It Now". I think of that so often, and allow it to help drive me to a place of accomplishment on even a small level. Was it Ben Franklin that said "don't put off tomorrow what you can do today"? Whoever it was knew of which they spoke. Tomorrow isn't guaranteed; we only have today. So how will we leave it? And what state of peace will we rest in at the end of the day? Keep the focus, guard yourself in time and energy, and do what you can with what you have.