The Guy Who Punts

The guy who punts, who kicks the can down the road, who blows things off, the procrastinator, the man who checks out, I am, you are, we are all these men at times. And yes! Sometimes it just feels good to check out. If you work, raise kids, have a relationship, check email, pay bills, keeping up is a lot of work. But the downside is you find yourself tired, letting down people you love. And so the paradox of it all, I started punting more often.

Punting in a different way, punting thoughts, trying to free up some resources, some mental bandwidth, to be more "checked in". Five minutes or ten, whatever is available, just sit and think, maybe close my eyes, then punt the first thought that comes to me, then the next and the next and the next, again and again and again. And down field about 50 yards or so, there's a bunch of thoughts, big and small - take out the trash, call Jake, email Julien's teacher, look for the table cloths, invoice Sanchez, post on the blog, figure out life - sitting on the grass down field and I can barely see them they're so far away and eventually they just dissolve into the grass, like fertilizer.

And the grass is the playing field, of life. And the punter works for me, he doesn't have a name, he is the guy who punts, he punts to clear the field, and when my mind is empty, he can take a rest, at least until the next thought pops up. And during this busy holiday season, I've been grateful for him. He's giving me more head space, more energy, all in the name of showing up for the ones I love and being more checked in. Amen!