Everyday Inspiration: Majoring In Minors
My dearest, dearest ones, Why would you wait to have the life you’ve always wanted? Are you majoring in minors?
It’s slightly humbling when I ask one of my dearest friends of 20 years if she has read my articles and her response is always, “No, that’s impossible! I don’t have any time!!” She then launches into a litany of what is filling her life and why she can’t get anything accomplished.
What are we doing with our time?
Are we allowing our lives to be swallowed up in the doing, where one day looks just like the next?
Do you just give lip service to all those sayings you see on the wall like, “You Only Live Once” or “Dance Like No One Is Watching”? Who’s got time to dance anyway?!
Most of us are shuttling back and forth to work or school, fitting in grocery shopping, doctors appointments, and returning calls when we get a free minute. We have long lists of things to do and people to see.
But where do WE fall on this list and when was the last time we invested time, real time into the dreams and callings we hear faintly in the distance?
It seems too far-fetched to even consider taking the time to really taste a cup of coffee (will do tomorrow), watch a sunset (next week), or stop and listen to the birds (maybe next vacation).
Isn’t it easier to put off the experiences that will make up a life and fill it up instead with all the stuff that seems to be screaming for our attention?
Are we majoring in minors?
Are we spending time on all the things that we think requires our attention, only to find that our priorities are completely reversed?
Perhaps we need to take a different course of action if we are to graduate from this life with the degree of Peace, Happiness, and Contentment we so crave. I assure you I have never found these things in the endless cycle of errands. I have found them through putting my emotional and mental welfare ahead of all the tasks. And then when I need to actually DO my errands, my new emotional state comes with me!
It’s a decision, a choice you make to stay busy. It’s an identity that you carry around like a badge of honor. Like comparing who has the bigger house or fancier car, YOU have the busiest life and feel important when your life is full to the rim with activities.
But are you LIVING your life or is your life living YOU?
You know deep down that you want to be happier and feel more fulfilled. You always had all these dreams locked away niggling at you to do for some later time when all these other things seem to settle down. You yearn to do things that matter to you, to slow down and enjoy what life has to offer. Ok, so why aren’t you?
If you really wanted to do something, you would. It’s that you don’t want to. You know that if you did something for yourself it would be terrifying. You would have to trade in your WHOLE identity. You are the busiest person you know and that makes you feel WORTH it. Isn’t your happiness worth it?
Is it time to be honest with yourself and stop allowing these endless tasks to sabotage your happiness? Trust me your “to do” list will never get done. If you had a winning Lotto ticket, I guarantee you would make the time to claim it. The prize in this case is Personal happiness. Only with this prize, you win everyday.
Start today. Do something for yourself that you have wanted to do for a long time. But bring yourself this time.
Bring your presence to what you’re doing so that what your doing takes on the meaning and depth of a life that is being LIVED. Then no matter what you choose to do is actually cherished, therefore bringing the potential for Peace, happiness and fulfillment into your everyday existence.
No matter how menial the task is, when you bring your attention to it, that presence gives what you do, meaning. It literally transforms the encounter. So take a half hour to talk to a friend on the phone, without ANY distractions, focusing just on your interaction. Go to that coffee shop you love and not only drink some coffee, but take time to browse the sights and smells of the shops around. When you bring your presence to what you do, your life shifts from majoring in minors to mastering in magic.
Are you ready?
P.S. Let me know your thoughts and post a comment. It makes my day!
As you take each step I will be there reminding you of your Magnificence, and I will continue to do so, until you are able to see it in yourself. © Copyright. Jennifer Annenberg Productions. 2013. All Rights Reserved. This publication may not be reproduced under any circumstances without the written consent of Jennifer Annenberg.
