“Life is really
simple, but we insist on making it
complicated.” ~ Confucius
Good
morning!
Every year in
the small town where my mother, brother, and I
grew up, a water ski barefoot tournament is help in honor of my
brother’s
memory (he was an INCREDIBLE barefoot water skier – one of the best
there is).
This heavily
wooded little town holds about six hundred
people year-round and thousands in the summer.
Its main attraction is a chain of nine lakes
connected by channels. If
you have a boat or love the water, this is
the place to be.
Life moves at a
slower pace there – or maybe life goes at the
pace it should and we just move faster elsewhere.
There aren’t any drive-through fast-food
options for over twenty-five miles, so you actually have to plan what
you are
going to do for meals. Stores
still
close at 4:00 and 5:00p.m., so commitments don’t eat into the nighttime
hours. There isn’t
a gym or fitness
center for miles, so you’ll see many people swimming in the lake,
walking,
jogging, or biking. Hotels
don’t have
high-speed internet and there isn’t a Best Buy to grab a new computer
game to
keep a young one busy.
Going there
reminds me to go with the flow. My
friend, Sara, was with me for one year’s visit
and our hotel did not have a hair dryer, shampoo, or Internet. We arrived with
forty-eight hours to complete
a long list of duties for the ski tournament.
Our cell phones were out-of-area in many
places; and every task required
at least forty miles of driving round trip.
We realized we
had a choice.
We could “go with the flow” or become stressed
because of what we needed
to do, yet couldn’t get done due to the “inefficiencies” of missing
items and
the traveling distances required for tasks.
After washing my hair with a 1/8-inch thick
bar of hotel soap, Sara and
I connected for the daily duties.
We
both held the same attitude of going with the flow and letting the days
unfold
versus trying to create a certain day.
For both of us, this made a big difference in
our ability to enjoy and cherish
the many moments that were to come.
Your Turn:
Start your day with
good intentions and a
solid plan of action, but when things go awry or off-plan, don’t miss
the gifts
the day might have in store because you are so busy trying to push the
day back
into something that it just isn’t.
Today’s Affirmation:
I
let life happen.
And as always, don't forget
to
start your day with a heartfelt: "Something great is
going to
happen today... I can't wait to see what it is!"
And when ending
your day ask yourself: "What is one more thing I can do
to
make today matter?
