Tag: father’s day

What You See In the Valley

My friend Marc sent the above short to me today…it is well worth the 5 minutes  It appears it was made a couple of years ago.  I think about where I was at then.  Trying to make sense of a new way working and living.  Not having the energy anymore to grade people on "style points."  Funny how certain images/places in time stir you.

This short clip was timely, considering my struggle to learn how to live differently-in light of my father's passing. 

I've cried today more than I have in a while.

Here's what crossed my heart and mind as I watched the above video:

  1. The last communication I had with my father was a kiss.  No words, just a kiss.
  2. It's never a good idea to pretend…be vulnerable.
  3. I'm glad God introduced a level of humility to me 3 years ago that I needed desperately.  It softened my heart and allowed me to see with eyes of forgiveness and tenderness-specifically toward my father.
  4. I hugged and kissed my son when he got off the bus today.  We've always shared physical affection, but today I needed to plant a seed.
  5. I don't know when my heart will mend.
  6. Maybe what's inside me has changed the world (thank you, Robin).
  7. Even the strong need to allow themselves to be weak.

I have been brief here. 

The End of Busy

Busy Street 

I made a decision over the weekend to eliminate the word, thought and feeling of busy from my life.  As with any habit, i will stumble.  But the point was driven home when I spent some time considering my father and what it means to be a father.  My examination of that led me to the conslusion of how time goes at the pace it chooses to go and I can either be reactive or proactive.  I choose proactive.

In most situations, busy means you're involved in things that won't be brilliant in eternity, or tomorrow for that matter.  Busy can also be a signal that you're living under the dogma of someone/something else.  You know what I mean; your managing a life that is not your own.  Is that really what you want?  Do you want to be handed a script every morning telling what your lines are for that day? 

Don't be tricked into believing that you can abdicate the responsibility for your life.

So what's so intoxicating about busy?  I think, at least in America, it gives a false sense of meaning and purpose.  The idea that the more I'm involved in, the more those things will equal to something good and right.  But it's even more insidious when we use busyness as a tool to medicate and cope.  Sort of like being able to forget (temporarily) about the real pressing issues that are asking for our attention.  It can also disarm those who truly want to help.  You make the "I'm really busy" statement and they back away.  Ironic how we often reject the cure for what plagues us.

My advice to you is to choose life and find the thing(s) that are exclusive to your DNA and pursue them with a good pace.  You'll never be busy again.