Running around galavanting...feeling weighed down with circumstances and people's expectations...juggling daily responsibilities...all these things and more are norms of life. We do them or go through them, and when we're done with them, they're right back in our face. We can be like the little hamster on its wheel because it's so easy to be that little hamster. Where do all these things get us? Productivity is always good. Laughs are what we need to balance things out with the tears. We rush and run and rush and run and wait...we rush and run and rush and run and wait. What's on our mind when we go through that? I always find it funny when I see the person who speeds up and zips around the cars only to find him or her self stopped at the red traffic light just a few feet ahead - speeding up to stop.
In all of that, in all of the accomplishments of the day, in the rushing to the restaurants, etc, there may be things we miss if we don't actively look for them. We might miss getting ideas to better our selves and thus positively affect others if we're too busy trying to find out someone else's business. Any of us can die at any moment, on any given day, in any given way. Not to be morbid or pessimistic, but I'm a realist. Freak things happen all the time. We should never think we're indispensable for a moment. I want my life to count for something TODAY. If I'm fortunate enough to have another day be given to me, then I want my life to count for something then as well.
Truly, our days will hold more value and our lives will be more enriched if we pay more attention to the little things around us, and even in us (the still small voice). One morning I was jogging along an irrigated field at the local high school. All of a sudden, a dragonfly the size of a hummingbird was keeping pace with me by my side. It was the neatest thing. It didn't leave me for quite a while until I got close to the end of the field and then we parted ways. It looked like it was made of copper the way the sun was shining on it.
Do you ever watch the clouds? How about the good blessing of a front parking spot when you come around the corner? Watching a dog just lay there and pant - what's going through that little mind? Finding a $10 bill on the ground right in front of you at a busy waterpark with hundreds of people walking around you (that happened to me!)...always seeing a butterfly somewhere...seeing a little child act goofy just because that's who they are, not really trying to impress anyone, but just being themselves...being able to haggle down the price of something you really want...in my case, as a teacher, having a student who decides he wants to start reading the dictionary for fun (still makes my heart melt when I think about it, and 2 different students to top it off!)...
I could go on and on. Look for those little things. Give your attention to them and they will begin to reveal themselves to you more and more. They will bring you reprieve. They will fill you more than a full schedule.
NEXT WEEK: Broken dishes
