How many times have you gazed at someone else’s life and wished for a similar life yourself? What happened in their life that produces something you want in your life? How did they get to build such a good life that is envied by others?
On the flip side, maybe you are the one that others are envious of … and you don’t even realize it.
This morning, I woke thinking about Good Things and how to make them better.
Past Thoughts
I do not take some things for granted, although there have been times when everything we treasure is taken for granted. That’s a fact of life! For me, it’s keeping the perspective on a few important things.
You know. Happy wife, happy life…
Don’t leave the house without kissing the spouse.
And it’s good to call parents every so often.
But there are other things on the edges of my mind that I’m beginning to rethink and revalue. We often think these thoughts standing at the edge of a casket, or visiting a hospital room, feeling guilty that we let precious time slip through our fingers. Guilt leads to a rapid decline into stress as we attempt to recreate a better world. And stress will lead to all kinds of issues that are not profitable to your body, soul, or mine!
Maybe like Solomon, we need to think through what we value in life the most. There’s nothing new under the sun…(Ecclesiastes 1:9) Because of this thought, we should rethink and revalue our world.
Think It Through
So, think it through with me a moment. Rethink. Revalue. Recenter. Renew. All words that express a reflection of something we already know, or are doing. There are things that should not be overrated, nor undervalued. But often, these things we overvalue and underate (notice the reverse usage), are things we need to clarify and reevaluate!
Do you have a list of things that are important to you? What order do you have them in? Priority? Where do these things fit in your life? (You get to highlight the ones that mean something to you, and the ones you need to ponder.)
My Surroundings
The beauty of nature at its worst and best.
A sane way of enjoying anything around me
Quiet Walks, Yearning for what’s around the bend
Enjoying the Journey more than the Destination
Comfortable chairs, Fire on a cold night, A loving pet for the downtime.
Leave the rat race to someone else, and enjoy the simplicity of my surroundings.
My Connections
The importance of the circle of family, friends, and loved ones.
Equally, the importance of a single person and their personal value to you, or you to them.
The pleasure of meeting and engaging with a stranger – finding common ground and differences.
Reconnecting with someone from my past.
Sharing, caring, conversation and loving the experience.
Holding Hands – Hugs for my family and friends and the stranger that needs them.
A good book that engages my mind,
Poetry (of all things), More history and less future,
How we got to where we are, instead of where we are going,
Enjoying simple stories instead of complex machinations.
Less noise and more silence. Balladeers with a story to tell.
Less Judgement and less Criticism – more accepting of someone who is not like me.
My Needs
Simple Needs. Good neighbors. Healthy habits.
Take care of yourself. There’s only one of you!
Spiritual as well as physical.
Prayer that keeps me connected.
Quiet times of devotions and reflection.
Quiet times of His Word.
Journaling my journey.
Sharing and Caring what
others need to share, While leaving your story on the back burner for another
day.
Competition may be nice, but it is also destructive.
Taking someone on your journey. Paying their way and not worrying about it.
It’s Not Impossible To Accomplish
Oh. My list of overrated and undervalued stuff has grown huge, and every time I visit the thought, I keep adding and subtracting. I realize there’s plenty of time over the next 30 years to get reconnected with a simpler life and value the needful and necessary things.
Is this an aging process? When you are young your focus is to attain and acquire. As I age, I’m really focused on how to give back and let loose.
My kids have introduced me to singers and storytellers they think will match my unique personality. Have you ever heard of Alison Krauss? Sure you have! She’s won more awards than any other female artist. There is a song she sings called “Simple Love“, and one section of the lyrics goes like this:
I want a simple love like that
Always giving never asking back
When I’m in my final hour looking back
I hope I had a simple love like that
It’s An Old Story Re-told Again and Again
When you think about all those folks who have “success”, there is a recurring theme in all their lives about returning to simpler times. One set of familiar lyrics comes from a song Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson sang, talking about returning to Luckenbach, Texas. (It was released in 1977, I was 22, 3 years married, and drove my first trip to Alaska!)
So baby let’s sell your diamond ring
Buy some boots and faded jeans and go away
This coat and tie is choking me
In your high society, you cry all-day
We’ve been so busy
Keepin’ up with the Jones
Four car garage and we’re still building on
Maybe it’s time we got
Back to the basics of love
Keeping up with everyone else, and refusing to stop and smell the roses along the way! (Mac Davis, 1974) It’s a rough and rocky road if you don’t!
Perspective, Thimk, Algorithms
For me, it’s all about perspective, thimking it through and having algorithms to define my path. These three keywords are the hashtags of most of my writing. Search my blog posts and you will find these threads worded through all my thoughts.
Here’s a secret we all know, but perhaps we need to think it through for clarity.
I cannot please all the people all the time, but it does not stop me from having a simple basic love for who they are, where they are, even when they are living and acting as they do.
Equally, you cannot please me all the time so quit worrying about it.
Some have fond memories of days gone by, while others stress when you mention these times. I’ve learned not to mention things unless I’m willing to defend my memory. We all see life as we are, not as it was!
Some have fond memories of days gone by, while others stress when you mention these times. I’ve learned not to mention things unless I’m willing to defend my memory. We all see life as we are, not as it was! Click To TweetSpiritual Thought
If I think something through and fail to keep my spiritual connection to purpose alive, then I may just be wasting my time. The Apostle Paul writes his last letter to his protege, Timothy, and states his case:
My life is coming to an end, and it is now time for me to be poured out as a sacrifice to God. I have fought the good fight. I have completed the race. I have kept the faith. The prize that shows I have God’s approval is now waiting for me. The Lord, who is a fair judge, will give me that prize on that day. He will give it not only to me but also to everyone who is eagerly waiting for him to come again.
(2 Timothy 4:6-8 GW)
There is a time when it will be too late to rethink, renew, revalue or even recenter our path. The best time to plant a shade tree we can enjoy today? 20 years ago! So. Plan for your future today. Start the journey of making a good life. Today. Right now. Don’t put it off. No time like the present.