“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” Socrates
I’m guilty of going too fast, of robbing myself and those around me of the attention they need and deserve.
I’m guilty of looking at the days as check–off lists and thinking, if I can just get through many days filled with many things, I’ll achieve progress.
I’ve treated people like tasks that crowd out my agenda. I’ve starved myself of the details of life, the nuance, the colors, and the simpleness.
I’ve traded the present for daydreams of grandeur and wantonness.
Who knows how many years I’ve lost. But that too is in the past, so I must let it go. The truth is, all I have is the now, so today I’ll change. Today I’ll slow and trade ten decades of displaced desire for the only time that truly exists, the present.
I’ll notice the dust that swirls in the rays of the sun and how the mist falls just before a heavy rain. I’ll notice the splendor of the cardinal on my fence. I’ll listen to the words in each song and pay them their due.
Enough with the shackles of appointments, notifications, and calendar slots. I’ll trade them for conversations, hugs, and human connection. I will give my time to people who matter most and care not about what’s next, but about what’s now.
Beware of the barrenness of a busyness.
Bits of Wisdom Podcast #37