The last weeks and months have left me too full to accurately share my experiences. However, I do wish to share my controlling thought of the past months:
Mindful engagement in each moment is the means by which we grow in character, integrity, and grace.
I doubt anyone will disagree with me here. But most people (myself included) do a poor job of engaging in each moment. So my central question has become:
-How do we become more mindful?
There are a lot of ways to approach this question, but here's one I've found helpful:
We need to create margin in our busy lives.
Said another way, we must set aside time, energy, and willpower to disengage from our busy-ness and be reminded of our true priorities. As time goes on, we must stay vigilant to protect those priorities. As my dad used to say, "the most important thing is to make sure that the Most Important Thing is the most important thing." Or as Dr. Stringfield likes to quote, "in all things, keep the end in mind." Dr. Stringfield is a great example of mindfulness and margin-- and that didn't just happen. He didn't just read the book
Margin-- he worked part-time for most of his children's childhoods so that he could invest in family experiences and memories rather than his retirement account. I found that out during his lecture on margin in Colorado last weekend, and it blew my mind. I've never heard of someone taking this principle so seriously. To hear that it is possible to create that amount of margin in one's life has encouraged me to pursue the same degree of freedom in my life.
A pitfall that grabs us all is projecting our priorities into the future. I'll pray later today. I'll go for a run tomorrow. I'll study next week. I'll hang out with him next month. I'll take up that instrument next year. Unfortunately, we never have as much time as we think we will in the future, and we leave most of these things undone.
The more we realize that all we have is now, the more we mindfully engage in each moment.
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Brandon Tackett, one of the most mindful people I know... and a dang good disc golfer. |