Take Time

From Northington Notes, August 15.

In our all too busy lives these days time to stop and enjoy our surroundings is sometimes overlooked. The pressures of constant contact (cell phones, twitter, the internet, and other means of electronic communication) leave us without much time to ourselves if we allow life to consume our being. At least once a day (and many more times is even better) taking the time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the sights and sounds of our natural world is an investment in mental health which will pay dividends for all our remaining lifetimes.

My personal pleasure is the garden. Sitting in a chair
watching the grass grow as the breeze moves leaves
and flowers about at intervals not predicted or controlled
by me lends a measure of pleasure hard to match.
The serenity that comes from such times allows my mind
to continue functioning in response to the daily pressures
of life (family, self, friends, and job). Without those times
of quiet contemplation life can begin to wear on my own mindset.

Just think a moment about the people in our government today. What about the pressures they face? In the world of today the forces at work are nothing short of monumental. Maybe if government took a few moments for collective silence and meditation even those processes would move along with a better tempo.

But our society is not yet ready for collective periods of contemplation. So it is to the individual such times are left. Each of us is responsible for our own well being. To that end we need to be sure we each have those periods of quiet which refresh the mind and renew the spirit. As my father often said, "All work and no play makes a dull boy." I agree.



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Peace.