Too %#@!*&$ Busy

"Ugh! It's the first of July and the summer feels half over and I haven't gotten a thing done."

As I write that, I notice that it is mostly true. And very boring. Who cares that my summer is busy? I get busy because I let myself get busy. It isn't rocket science. The more stuff I cram in, the less time I have to......

That's the question isn't it. If I had more time, what would I do with it? Fill it full of more stuff to do probably. And to what end? So I could say, with all authenticity "my summer is half over and I haven't gotten a thing done".

Why do we think that more stuff and more activity and more frenzy makes us 'more' people? What it does is makes us stressed, angry, grumpy, and empty. (Sounds like the 7 dwarfs doesn't it?)

So what would it be like to be different? Well, I can think of a couple things. One might be to slow down, to more fully enjoy what we have without cramming in more 'don't have'. Another might be to work at being fully present in whatever we are doing, really savoring all that is in our day. A third option might be to stop a moment, take a picture of the reality of our lives, and choose to live a little counter cultural. We could choose to challenge the demand inside and outside that says we should 'do' more. We could stand in the face of a world that values too much activity and that tells us we are nothing if we don't accomplish. We could unplug and disengage and walk with Jesus, not the rat race.

I'm not going to write any more right now. It would just give us both something more to do, and I don't think that's what we really need.

I have a client that I work with that has come up with a profound 'mantra'.

Move Slower
Breathe Deeper
Listen More Often

Be with Jesus this summer........