Making a Life

It dawned on me the other day.  We (I) have to take time to do some things because they are good for us.

I'm not talking about diet and exercise.  Goodness knows I've talked about that plenty (although I don't intend on shutting up on those topics anytime soon--not with the recent announcement that America has hit an all time high for percentage of people with obesity).

No, I'm talking about the little things in life.  Little things that make a life.

A buddy of mine had told me about taking his lunch hour and going home and reading on his back porch during a driving rain.   I stopped to think--I can't remember the last time I read a good book.  I guess it was when I was on vacation.  I usually manage to read there.

And sitting watching the rain?  That was probably on vacation too.  Maybe waiting on the rain to stop so I could head to the beach.

I think everybody needs to stop and watch the rain.   Maybe ponder life's meaning.  At the very least think about what your own life means.

It just doesn't seem to happen for me.  You see, I work all the time.  It's football season so my job runs to about 60 hours a week.  And we've done a major renovation on our house which is still not completely finished.  Add in the short amount of time that I've got to do yardwork/farmwork and you can see that when I say I work all the time, it really is pretty true.

I'm not whining.  I choose all this.  But I do realize my shortcomings--the mistakes I make every day.  And I understand the choices that I make and the consequences on my life and my health.

But I know with absolute certainly that I (we) need to take the time to read good books.  And have long conversations.  Take long walks.  Listen to good music.

There have been a lot of great traveling exhibits at the Knoxville Museum of Art.  It seems like I always have these great plans to visit KMA yet I can remember only once in a long time that I have actually followed through on those plans.  And it was closed that day.

We need to sleep in every once in a while.  I do it occasionally but sleep is not one of my vices.  I'm getting a bit more than I used to but I'm still up at 4 most mornings.  Even on vacation, I'm usually up, maybe paddleboarded a bit, swam some laps, and still back to the condo before anybody else in the family gets up. 

We need to tell the people in our lives that we love them or, if the words are too difficult for you to say out loud, show them.  At least tell them that you appreciate them.  They might be gone tomorrow.

Go for a ride, call an old friend, do something completely out of your comfort zone.  Promise yourself that today you're going to do it.  Don't be so busy making a living that you fail to make a life.