Time to Slow Down

C. S. Lewis was quoted for stating, "We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship." As I continue to age, I discover on a regular bases the accuracry of Mr. Lewis' claims. 

On July 29, 2016, CNN published and article addressing the amount of screen time the average adult spends each day. The number? Almost 11 hours. The official time spent in front of a screen is 10 hours and 39 minutes. The devices that were considered in the study are as follows;

1. tablets
2. smartphones
3. personal computers 
4. multimedia devices 
5. video games 
6. radios 
7. DVDs, 
8. DVRs 
9. TVs.

If you are interested in learning more about the study click here. Where am I going with all of this? Just as C.S. Lewis once said, I repeat the same; the world in which we live steals us from the opportunity to find peace within because so much is constantly taking place without. 

There must be a time to slow down. We must choose to embrace "solitude, silence, and private" rather than running from these things through social media, online interaction, and all other forms of electronic devices. 

Of course, there is a place for these things; for they are not entirely bad but they must be used in moderation and in reason. I encourage us all to spend more time pondering and "slowing down" in the world of commotion. 

Indeed, it is worth our time to take time to slow down. 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/here-there-and-everywhere/201206/36-quotes-meditation

"The Glory Days"

More often than not when someone begins speaking of "the glory days" they are referring to days past. We regularly think of Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite and his high school football escapades.

May I submit that the true "glory days" are always ahead. The longer we walk upon this earth, the greater our capacity to experience the glory of that upon which we are walking. Yes, there are draw backs to growing older. At times, our senses diminish. Whether it be our sight, our hearing, our smelling and taste, our touch, or our brain altogether, these things do fade. That being the case, our ability to empathize, understand, and see as a whole, with the world around us makes life glorious.

Living for something is greater than having lived for something. The older we get, the more our time is weighted in the past, statistically speaking. Naturally, we desire to reflect and consider the life we led. This is not inherently wrong nor should it be ignored; reflection and consideration are important parts of our becoming. The past is exactly that, an "important part of our becoming." Becoming always takes place in the future.  

Let us move forward with confidence that the fullness of life is always before us, never behind us. I believe this to be the case. Even if I am wrong, there is little worth pointing my wrongness out. For I know that I am much happier, much more filled with joy, and much more hopeful when I choose to look at the future as the days of glory to come rather than only considering the beauty of days past.

Let us believe in the future with gratitude in our hearts for the past. Let us live our glory days today and tomorrow rather than reliving them from the days of yesterday. Regardless of where we are at in life, there is something to hope for. Let us hope on.

The Wild West

While growing up, I spent some time in the old classic westerns. Louis L'amour is among the most famous of western writers and rightfully so. He is a man who knows how to put  a book together. The book Mr. L'amour wrote are always similar in more ways than one but they never get old. 

I remember watching Roy Rogers and playing toy guns like Clint Eastwood. Something about the Wild West always get the imagination going. The more I have had the opportunity to learn the west and the beauty found in it, the more I find this organized randomness. Yes, this sounds contradicting but I assure that it is not. 

The world in which we now lives seems to try and make everything a math equation. If you put in the work you will get the result. If you practice everyday, eat well, and exercise you can be a starting player on the football team. If you study, you will get a good great. All of these things are true of course, but in them lies a dangerous fallacy; life is a summation of your actions and the ending outcome can be determined by the preceding actions taken. 

In truth, the outcome of a given situation is influenced by more than simply our actions before it. There are unpredictable and random influences that cannot be planned or prepared for. I believe this is learned best in the country. No matter how good of a ranch hand you are, no matter how good of a horse breaker you are, no matter how well you can drive cattle, the animals and the ground upon which they live have a mind of their own.  

The Fall

Above all the seasons that I enjoy stands one and one alone: the fall. The longer it sticks around the more I fall in love with it. The fall season brings about songs like "The Boys of Fall" by Kenny Chesney, "Leaves That Are Green" by Simon and Garfunkel, and "Harvest Moon" by Neil Young. 

Fall brings about new colors, new games, and new holidays. Fall brings about the end of the heat with a cool westward breeze. Fall brings in the beginning of the holiday season. 

I find myself loving the active birds and working squirrels preparing for the winter season. Seemingly, the world is full of transitional periods. Life is full of moments of change, often preceded by some sign such as the adjusting colors of the leaves.

Fall, for me, is a time of remembrance. It is a time of consideration of the summer past and the new year that lies ahead. During the fall season is often the time when Jack Frost makes his first appearance along with its last of the year.

During the transition of fall, I often find myself considering the beauty of nature and the brightness of the day. I believe this to be the case for three reasons: (1) the beautiful colors draw my eye to nature more fully, (2) the signaling of colder weather causes me to desire to soak up the warmth while I can, and (3) the fresh smells that accompany the fall season bring back oh so many memories. 

Indeed, the fall is my favorite time of year.