W. H. Auden once said: Choice of attention—to pay attention to this and ignore that—is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer.
It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day that we often forget that every single choice that we make, particularly when it comes to how we live, not just the little niggling details, really matters. Every single one.
I guess it boils down to limited resources, right?
There are a finite number of moments in each day, and most of us are obligated to spend a considerable number of those pursuing our careers, making ends meet, etc., which means that the number available for spiritual and emotional nurturing are limited, indeed.
So demonstrating our love for our families, taking good care of ourselves-nutritionally, emotionally, spiritually, physically, in the moments we actually have for those pursuits? Makes absolute sense.
And growing our hearts and enriching our spirits through whatever means we choose, be it spending more time with dear friends and fam, cultivating new friendships, meditating, addressing/acknowledging/working to resolve our old, accumulated baggage...that's what we need to do.
Which means, to me...that shelving/jettisoning some of the compulsive behavior around chasing dust bunnies, tidying and generally obsessing about domestic perfection...just makes sense. Because that takes time, and in my book, if time is the single most precious commodity, using it to deal with domestic shit that nobody but me will notice is ludicrous.
Oh, and when we actually decide to focus, we need to be totally present. Totally. Because from what I've been noticing of late, when I spend just a moment really appreciating the seemingly mundane moments in life, I realize they're anything but mundane, and, in fact, comprise the fabric of each day and in sum will be what I remember in a life lived fully and well.
I'm just sayin'.
It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day that we often forget that every single choice that we make, particularly when it comes to how we live, not just the little niggling details, really matters. Every single one.
I guess it boils down to limited resources, right?
There are a finite number of moments in each day, and most of us are obligated to spend a considerable number of those pursuing our careers, making ends meet, etc., which means that the number available for spiritual and emotional nurturing are limited, indeed.
So demonstrating our love for our families, taking good care of ourselves-nutritionally, emotionally, spiritually, physically, in the moments we actually have for those pursuits? Makes absolute sense.
And growing our hearts and enriching our spirits through whatever means we choose, be it spending more time with dear friends and fam, cultivating new friendships, meditating, addressing/acknowledging/working to resolve our old, accumulated baggage...that's what we need to do.
Which means, to me...that shelving/jettisoning some of the compulsive behavior around chasing dust bunnies, tidying and generally obsessing about domestic perfection...just makes sense. Because that takes time, and in my book, if time is the single most precious commodity, using it to deal with domestic shit that nobody but me will notice is ludicrous.
Oh, and when we actually decide to focus, we need to be totally present. Totally. Because from what I've been noticing of late, when I spend just a moment really appreciating the seemingly mundane moments in life, I realize they're anything but mundane, and, in fact, comprise the fabric of each day and in sum will be what I remember in a life lived fully and well.
I'm just sayin'.
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