People are busy. Families are busy. Lives are chaotic and full. Sometimes we forget that all of our days are made up of minutes and seconds that make up our lives. Everyone, rich, middle class, lower class, poor, all of our lives are made up of these precious, passing moments that can never be retrieved.
It’s really important to understand that we trade our lives for things. However many minutes you spend at something, that is the value that you are placing on your life for it.
We get caught up in the whirl of everyday life. Children going to school, parents to work, grocery shopping, meetings, committees, sports, vacations, cleaning, mowing, volunteering, errands, laundry, working out, taking care of children. All of these things have one thing in common, they are the way that our life is used.
We fill our day so full of things that at the end of the day we have no idea where the day has gone. This is true whether we live in poverty or are sitting pretty well financially.
We have the ability to claim these moments and still stay as busy as we are. All that it takes is to learn the ability to be present wherever you are and with whatever you are doing.
Before you answer the phone, take a deep breath and let go of everything that is happening around you. Be present for the person on the other end. When you are talking to a child, look them in the eye, let them see your interest in what they are saying.
When you do the dishes, take those moments to feel the soapy water, to look out the window at the birds or the children playing. But also be aware that here in Allen County is a great gift.
The trails.
Most people take the trails for exercise. They ride their bikes or walk and keep track of their miles and their time on fitbits that keep a record of their movements.
Even in our leisure we are unable to let go.
Unplug yourself. Go by yourself. Leave your music at home.
Stand with your face to the sun, close your eyes and let yourself feel it. Stand still by the water, close your eyes and hear it. Feel the air on your skin. Let your mind wander wherever it wants to travel. Feel all of the feelings that you cover up with noise in your daily life. Place your feet so that your imprint stays on the ground for days after you have left. Be present.
That is the beauty of our trails here in Allen County. Once you have mastered this, take your kids along with you. Teach them to feel the world around them. Feel all of it, not just move through it.
For feeling the world and being moved by it is what compassion is about. Compassion is being moved emotionally by the circumstances of others and then taking action.
First we have to learn to feel the world. Take a walk and find your God.
Don’t stay so busy you forget to live
