Thursday, February 24, 2011

The Voice of Do

I don't know about everyone else, but some days my "do" list is too long for my liking. Those "dos" become "do-do" and push me up against my day in a frantic and anxious way. It often feels like I am trying to walk through a snow storm with the wind in my face...uphill. Sometimes I add "dos" to my list, or my plate, for all the wrong reasons. I thought I had come out of the storm but the universe hates a vacuum...or I hate the space...and so I am once again trying to re-enter that storm of "do." At least this time I am slowing down a bit to ask some important questions.

I think there have been times I have been "doing" to distraction. It is almost like if I take too much time to simply be with what is already in front of me, to face what I really want to do, to be with any discomfort I might be feeling...well, it is simply too hard. It is far easier to heap up my plate with other "dos" that do not necessarily benefit me or anyone else for that matter. I simply see that there is so much to be done and somewhere in my over sized ego I think I can do it all! Mother Theresa gave us the best advice when she told us that "Not everyone can do great things but everyone can do small things with great love." The action called "doing" is meant to bring about the results we want. It should never be a distraction that takes us away from what is important or the life we must face (must be present with) if we are to live that life well.

Great teachers have encouraged us to be "beings" and not "doings" so that we actually get to taste the sweetness and wholeness of life. Even tragedy and sorrow can, in someways, add to the measure of our days if we are willing to sit with them long enough. I think it is time for me to sit and sort through my "dos." My intention is to make my life count, to add to the measure of my days and to the days of others...especially my family. So for today, I want to unpack my over-sized baggage of "to dos," step out of the snow storm and travel a little lighter. I know for certain my in-basket will never be empty and there is always tomorrow!

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