Tuesday, November 08, 2011

When I can't talk....I start thinking

I think there is really not much that will make you stop and take a good look at your life like being sick. Luckily, for me, it's just a minor cold with laryngitis, but it has forced me to slow down a bit for the last few days and really see what my daily life looks like. And to think a little about the things that are important, and the things that are urgent, and how the two aren't necessarily the same thing. I think I've spent too much time on the urgent and not enough on the important lately, and if you don't take care of the important, then the urgent starts looming more and more. Does that make much sense, or is it the germs taking over?

I just know that I spend more time daily putting out small fires that if I planned better wouldn't exist. For example, every week we go through at least two packages of bagels and two containers of cream cheese. If I were to buy all of these at the same time, I wouldn't have to run to the store twice - or more because we are out of one of these items. (I know, I'm a little old to just now be figuring this out, but give me a break - raising 5 kids has left me in survival mode more than I realized!)

I read this blog post today and it really hit home. I think often that I lack the contentment that my life once held. I look around my home and feel discouraged by the clutter and unfinished projects. I keep myself occupied with what I feel like I have to do, and ignore what I want to do, then whine about it. I plan my time poorly then stay up too late to finish something that should have been done earlier, but was neglected because I was busy doing something irrelevant. We hear a lot of talk today about being "purposeful" and leading an "authentic" life. I think sometimes we set those things up as ideals, then beat ourselves up because we are falling short.

Maybe what we need to do is just breath. To look at the leaves on the trees and listen to the music of the wind. To know that who we are and what we do is enough. To appreciate what we have and to know that all of this window dressing is just temporary and enjoy it for what it is. Today is a new day, and a new opportunity to go beyond the daily grind and into a day that holds joy and promise that we can share with others.

In Joy!

Pamela

1 comment:

imquilternity said...

I read that post too and in the past couple of years have found myself feeling as though I will never "measure up" to all the terrific people in "blogland." I will say that I don't believe any of us present "real" lives on our blogs. It's more about having a beautiful or interesting blog and getting as many followers as possible. With that said, I have made a very conscious effort in the last year to disconnect from technology and spend more time living my own life. It's been remarkable how much better I feel. I wish you good luck on your journey.