What Are Your Hanging Chads?

In 2000, there were enough hanging chads created by Florida’s paper ballots to prompt a recount to determine the winner of America’s presidential election. Don’t underestimate the power of your own psychological chads - worrying about unimportant tasks left undone, hours spent in counter factual thinking (aka “what might have been”), mindless hours spent chasing the latest story on social media.  

We all have them,
Hanging under our skin.
Those pesky little to do’s,
Hanger’s on
Like little stones
Adding weight,
And cumbersome freight,
To our soul’s purpose.
They sometimes usurp us
Away from our heart’s desire
And into the fire
Of tedium
And details
Even ne’er do wells. 

Endless to do’s,
Straightening the shoes,
Freeing the house from dust.
Feeling we must
Busy ourselves
Like tiny elves
With the little things.
Obsessively checking our likes
BP spikes
As we impossibly try
To change the past.
Keeping our minds occupied
While deep inside
Our soul’s shimmer
Grows only dimmer.
Each passing day
We drift away
On our journey home
To the unknown. 

Fling them aside!
Hop on! Enjoy the ride!
Or take them along,
Flying in formation they become a throng
Of ardent supporters and friends
Now lifting you up with the wind 

Transform all those chads
That once were bad;
Let them flap like wings
Helping your heart sing.
Release all that dust
Creating rust
In your cells.
Wish them well
Then move along
Forward and strong
With a song
In your
Heart.