abstract vs. concrete, part 1

At some point in life I would endeavor to have two different rooms, a "clean room" and a "dirty room".

The clean room would have blank walls, no furniture, and a hardwood floor on which to sit and read, ponder, or pray. It would serve as a "sterile" environment, of sorts, with no distractions.

Progress would be made in such a room, but only in intangible ways. That's why the dirty room is a necessity; it is the opposite of the clean room, generally speaking, where tangible progress is made. It contains tools to help execute on the ideas that come from the clean room, where ideas are born with more clarity.

Since I realized this desire last month, it's been very striking to me how much this notion of recognizing and balancing both the abstract and the concrete needs to occur for healthy living. In the past I've fallen heavy onto one side or the other. Many times I've attempted to do way too many things at one time without appropriately planning or considering what to do. I've also spent too much time considering situations at times when I should have been out executing (generally, helping or attending to people) and opportunities have been missed.