7:00 a.m.-Brush teeth- put on some music- take a shower-visualize what I'm going to wear- what time do I work?- okay I have 7 hours and 42 minutes before I have to start getting ready. 7:15- Get out of the shower- put on my outfit- I should take the dogs out- change from music to netflix- I need to pick up my room- cleans room- I need to make a list of the things that I need- what am I doing right after I finish? Maybe I should eat something. 7:30- Okay lets be sure to make something healthy- I have to go to the gym later so eggs- Black coffee?- I should put on my music while I do this. Every. Single. Day. Every morning I wake up and I feel like its a race to do everything I need to do. My mind is racing to find all the things that need to be done and take note of them.
This is a common trait in mothers and women in general. The need to stay active visas natural as breathing to me. But the strange thing is that I usually don't have anything very important to do. My mental list of things that I actually need to do is pretty short. So why am I always running around like a chicken with it's head cut off? Even if I'm doing something productive, I feel like I have to be doing three other productive things for it to really count. In my mind, it's not just enough to do the dishes. I have to do the dishes while I listen to music as my food is baking. And it's not just enough to clean my room. I have to clean my room while Netflix is playing, while I eat my food that was baking while I did the dishes and listened to music. Because Heaven forbid I accomplish one thing at a time. I find it to be a common trait to want to be as efficient as humanly possible. I feel the need to do as many things as I can in order to be truly productive. I think a big problem with our culture today is the need to be busy. I find it amusing to watch Facebook moms have contests over who has the busiest life with their work, kids, spouse, etc.-- as if the act of staying busy is an honorable or even a superior action. I think mothers in particular think that they deserve a pat on the back for being pushed to their limit. A very good friend of mine recently returned from a missions trip in Zambia. She spend about five weeks at a children's camp ministering to African children. Last week I asked her what a typical day looked like and she just told me that everyday is different. There was no schedule, everybody was just... there. I was still a little confused. I confess that my knowledge of Africa is based on the commercials on tv and the phrase, "eat your food, there is a starving child in Africa." I continued to ask, "So did you like... wake up at 7:00 and then go eat breakfast or... what did you do?" She shook her head and said, "No, we usually slept in until about nine." Now I was really confused because the 'Support Africa' commercials said that they had to walk seven miles to get water from a river every morning. She continued, "It's not like it is here in America. Everything here is go go go. But that's really just they way it is here. Everyone is so preoccupied with getting things done. But in Africa, they take their time. They don't rush around. They just enjoy each other." I was so stunned to learn that there are still cultures like that. Being from one of the most work centered cities in the world, it was hard for me to grasp the fact that people have time to just be still. I, like many Americans, haver forgotten what it's like to be still. To listen like I have an endless supply of time and to watch as if I'll never see beauty again and to just be because I am. I'm always so concerned that I'll be wasting my time if I do nothing, but I think more time is wasted if I forget to enjoy the moments that could be worth remembering. I don't think there is anything lazy about wanting to enjoy a moment of peace. Make an effort to enjoy your time. Sip your coffee and read a book. Go for a walk and pick some flowers. Listen to music and take time to think about the lyrics. Make a Facebook post that says, "I'm just going to take some time to be happy today." And we can laugh as the other moms comment, "wow, I can't imagine having time for that." Gotta love those Facebook moms.
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AuthorI'm really not that interesting. |