Distractions

Why are the simplest things always the most difficult to do? Why do we procrastinate when we know it will come back to haunt us sooner or later (usually sooner)?

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." --John Lennon

I think often times we get lost in our distractions. This isn't a problem for the utterly impoverished whose sole goal in life is subsistance from day to day. No, this is a 'disease' of the affluent, the rest of us. (I'm certain the utterly impoverished would gladly take on this burden with us, but that is a topic for another day.)

There are so many good things in the world that we can be doing at any given time that it's easy to become blinded to the better things in life--the things that really matter. That's the real trick isn't it? For most of us (I believe) what we generally refer to as our conscience keeps us out of trouble--we don't have a problem avoiding the bad/evil things of the world. No, the real trick is choosing between the good & the better, right? There is only so much time in the day, we only live so long. Wouldn't learning to discern between the two, and actually choosing the better part be a really important skill & action on our parts?

Well, that's rhetorical you say, of course we want to do that. No one wants to waste their time when you look at it like that. The problem is I am easily distracted away from the better things by the good things. I daresay I'm probably not the only one...

There are a million examples we could think of where this is true, but I'll pick just one. In the time it took me to write this blog entry (which I view as being a 'good' thing, sharing my thoughts with others and all that, although some might disagree on placing it in this category) couldn't I have spent time with my family, furthering those ties & relationships? No... actually they are all out at the moment at my mother-in-law's house, so there! But, are there other more important things that I could be doing at this very moment? Of course there is! There always will be in this case. While blogging may be a good thing, there are always going to be infinitely better things that I could be doing with my time. The point is not that I should stop blogging, the point is that I should actively choose to be aware of those 'infinitely better things' in my life and make a concious effort to choose them more often then not. The only way to apply this is to practice it--to actually do it. To stop procrastinating, stop being distracted and take action...

Tags: life family enrichment