Quiet Thoughts on a Quiet Day
I woke up at 9 AM Friday as my body decided to ignore the alarm's beeping for almost 2 hours. At first, I was disappointed because I was looking forward to an early start on my to-do list. It was as if my body decided to override my mind on the matter of a wakeup time and I didn't really get a choice.
It was a planned day off to spend down my paid vacation and to catch up on some projects around the house. Thursday afternoon, it was looking like I'd have to spend a couple hours at work settling things for the long weekend. I wasn't looking forward to working on my “day off”, but sometimes we all have to do things we don't want to do, right? After the late start, though, I shelved the idea of working. Life is best lived in cycles, not full-speed all the time. Therefore, this weekend is a short “rest” cycle.
My old pastor used to say that people needed margins much more than they realize. You know why people always get sick when they're on vacation? Because their bodies finally relax from the chronic stress and bam! Lessened immune function. This is a phenomenon I'm trying to avoid
Over the last couple years, I've tried to include intentional periods of lessened intensity and time off of work. My employer is great in tunderstanding the work-life balance, but that doesn't keep some of my co-workers from spending 10-hour days at work or working most weekends “because they want to.” I know I would eventually go crazy working like that. Since I enjoy what I do, it's easy to forget to take time off. The past couple weeks have been particularly trying, so when I noticed the opportunity to make it a four-day weekend, I took it.
The gently-enforced downtime has been educational and challenging. My sleep schedule and even my music tastes are taking a laid-back style. At work, I'm definitely a metalhead. Much of my work has been accomplished to the sounds of After Forever, Epica, Nightwish, Evanescence and many others. Heck, even Pantera and Van Halen take turns through my rotation occasionally. This weekend, though, it's been Charlotte Church, Death Cab, and Waterdeep. Even the song stuck in my head the other day was Coldplay, a different spin on the usual.
My to-do list for the weekend included various organization tasks around the house. As I cleaned, I was surprised to find dirty dishes that had been sitting for almost a week and a half. Yuck! The more I puttered around the house, the more I found undone. It's as if my life hasn't been “lived in” much lately and I don't know why. My blog sits relatively neglected (although I have an entry almost finished and another simmering), my Facebook has had relatively little interesting content, and there were more than half-dozen emails in my inbox that should have been dealt with a while ago.
It's like my spiritual life. I get frustrated at God that stuff doesn't move (either the way I want it to, or at all), but then I realize I'm walking around in my spiritual life seeing stuff that has set for weeks. I don't really know what to make of it.
Downtime. As I finish this entry halfway through my weekend, I'm starting to appreciate the time I'm having to myself. When my life gets busy, small things get overlooked. When life is slow, it's a time to take care of small things and enjoy being at peace.
I've been fussing at God a bit lately. Some days, I know the questions I'm asking; other days, we're just out of sorts. I'll fully admit that I've been pushing God on a couple items. I pick dates and give God deadlines. We all know that doesn't work out well. I've been complaining that, although I can see all the steps I've climbed in the last several months, I don't see the next flight of stairs. What am I supposed to aim my life at if I don't know what's next?
That's not the point, though. The point is that God has put some parts of my life on hold purposefully and it's part of His good plan. When I think I need to push it forward, it's in ignorance of God saying, “This is a time to rest, This is enforced downtime so that you're ready for the next push.”
That doesn't always help. I still want to move, I still want to go.
It was a planned day off to spend down my paid vacation and to catch up on some projects around the house. Thursday afternoon, it was looking like I'd have to spend a couple hours at work settling things for the long weekend. I wasn't looking forward to working on my “day off”, but sometimes we all have to do things we don't want to do, right? After the late start, though, I shelved the idea of working. Life is best lived in cycles, not full-speed all the time. Therefore, this weekend is a short “rest” cycle.
My old pastor used to say that people needed margins much more than they realize. You know why people always get sick when they're on vacation? Because their bodies finally relax from the chronic stress and bam! Lessened immune function. This is a phenomenon I'm trying to avoid
Over the last couple years, I've tried to include intentional periods of lessened intensity and time off of work. My employer is great in tunderstanding the work-life balance, but that doesn't keep some of my co-workers from spending 10-hour days at work or working most weekends “because they want to.” I know I would eventually go crazy working like that. Since I enjoy what I do, it's easy to forget to take time off. The past couple weeks have been particularly trying, so when I noticed the opportunity to make it a four-day weekend, I took it.
The gently-enforced downtime has been educational and challenging. My sleep schedule and even my music tastes are taking a laid-back style. At work, I'm definitely a metalhead. Much of my work has been accomplished to the sounds of After Forever, Epica, Nightwish, Evanescence and many others. Heck, even Pantera and Van Halen take turns through my rotation occasionally. This weekend, though, it's been Charlotte Church, Death Cab, and Waterdeep. Even the song stuck in my head the other day was Coldplay, a different spin on the usual.
My to-do list for the weekend included various organization tasks around the house. As I cleaned, I was surprised to find dirty dishes that had been sitting for almost a week and a half. Yuck! The more I puttered around the house, the more I found undone. It's as if my life hasn't been “lived in” much lately and I don't know why. My blog sits relatively neglected (although I have an entry almost finished and another simmering), my Facebook has had relatively little interesting content, and there were more than half-dozen emails in my inbox that should have been dealt with a while ago.
It's like my spiritual life. I get frustrated at God that stuff doesn't move (either the way I want it to, or at all), but then I realize I'm walking around in my spiritual life seeing stuff that has set for weeks. I don't really know what to make of it.
Downtime. As I finish this entry halfway through my weekend, I'm starting to appreciate the time I'm having to myself. When my life gets busy, small things get overlooked. When life is slow, it's a time to take care of small things and enjoy being at peace.
I've been fussing at God a bit lately. Some days, I know the questions I'm asking; other days, we're just out of sorts. I'll fully admit that I've been pushing God on a couple items. I pick dates and give God deadlines. We all know that doesn't work out well. I've been complaining that, although I can see all the steps I've climbed in the last several months, I don't see the next flight of stairs. What am I supposed to aim my life at if I don't know what's next?
That's not the point, though. The point is that God has put some parts of my life on hold purposefully and it's part of His good plan. When I think I need to push it forward, it's in ignorance of God saying, “This is a time to rest, This is enforced downtime so that you're ready for the next push.”
That doesn't always help. I still want to move, I still want to go.
posted by The student of life at 1:29 PM
1 Comments:
Love these ideas! Just now getting a chance to catch up;)
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