Originally posted on Facebook HERE
Snow? Seriously?… ugh. Gimme some sunshine. Today I’m all over the place. I have many things going on in so many areas and everything we do or want to do takes time and effort, right? There is never enough time to get it all done. I guess there’s maybe some crazy organized people who put together a list of things to do and check off every box every day, but – I gotta believe that’s not how most of us work. We’re just trying to do what we can and eventually we’ll get to everything that’s important. And what’s important at any time can shift quickly, too. Because a hectic lifestyle means areas that will be neglected. Whatever you’re neglecting today – your health, your relationship, your hobby/relaxation time, your finances… will eventually become something that will force you to take notice. Neglect your health long enough – no time to work out, my job keeps me busy, I get home late, gotta go in early and my weekends are full of handling personal obligations, etc… and you’ll wind up getting some bad news some day. Then – health might become your number one focus – but when it does, everything else has to drop down the list and become less of a focus. Which means – whatever is on the bottom will start screaming for attention at some point. People talk about having balance – the importance of balance, etc. I don’t think I’ve ever lived that way. I’m not sure many people really do. It’s a nice thing to think about maybe, but – there’s also something to be said for focus and determination. And while I’m on this subject, I’ve also been thinking a lot lately about the topic from a couple weeks ago – the mind/body connection. In the US we seem to spend a lot of time and effort on “body”. Gym memberships, jogging, walking, biking, eating right, diets – not to mention clothes, perfume/cologne, teeth whitening, Botox, plastic surgery, tattoos, tattoo removal… a lot of time and effort on body. But it dawned on me yesterday as I was berating myself at the end of the day for only doing an hour of yoga and missing my half hour of cardio – I had done an hour of work on my body and I didn’t think it was enough. I had also read and meditated for 10 minutes each earlier in the day (time spent on my mind). And I was totally fine with that. In regards to the mind/body connection the body seems to be the main focus for the vast majority of people. It’s what other people see. It’s hard to get our mind right if our body is hurting. Now, I do believe there’s quite a bit of “mind” involved in yoga practice as well, so that’s somewhat of a blended activity – but it’s still a physical activity. What if we started turning inward and cared as much about how we see ourselves and our relationship with God as we do about how other people see us physically? What if we started to spend that much time on our mind or at least evened out the time and effort between the two? Would our lives be happier and more fulfilled? Would we need and desire less? I’m not sure I’m willing to seriously consider making a change like this myself, but to me it’s an interesting observation. And I do believe because of it I might try to stretch my reading and meditation on days that allow it time-wise. Often a mind left on its own is the path to unhappiness. And it’s an easy thing to neglect. Because, well – huge pectoral muscles take precedence, right? 🙂
