To BE or not to be ~ That is the question!

Contrary to popular belief, You do NOT need to be busy. Let me repeat that: You do NOT need to be busy! You do not need to justify your existence in terms of productivity. When is the last time you sat still and quiet and listened to a bird singing, watched the clouds passing by, felt the breeze against your skin? Our society has conditioned us to think that we are only meaningful and productive if we are busy. Rest and reflection are an essential part of life. RESTING is DOING! Ask yourself, is there enough margin in my day to STOP and BE with a friend who needs a listening ear? Can we “Drop what we are doing” to be attentive to the needs of a child, a friend? Is there enough margin in your day to STOP and offer a helping hand, lend a listening ear, make a phone call to friend? ~

I call these Holy Interruptions!

 If you have no margin, then may I boldly suggest that perhaps you are too busy? Ouch!

Margin. Margin is defined as the space between your load (tasks, obligations) and your limits. It is the "breathing room" in your schedule—the time, energy, and resources held in reserve for unexpected situations or acts of kindness. Margin provides extra space or flexibility. Margin is a small reserve that you're not currently using. You’re not stretched to the limit. You’re not going from one meeting, event, activity to the next to the next with no space in between. Margin is the space between my load and my limit.

When we are taught as children how to write, we are told “do not write to the edge of the page.”  We needed to keep a margin. A margin preserves neatness. It makes a page legible. It allows room for us to make mistakes and corrections. A page without a margin is hard to read and messy.

What happens if you begin to live with margin? You’ll have more peace in your life. You won’t be hurrying and worrying all the time. You’ll have time for the small things in life – for playing with kids or grandkids, going for walks, spontaneous cups of coffee with a friend to catch up… You’ll have better health. Your relationships will improve. You’ll have unhurried time to spend with those that you love best. It won’t be a hurried “Hi, how are you?” on the fly. 

How can you build more margin in your life?

The first decision you have to make to create margin in your life, is to pursue contentment. To achieve order, balance, and rest in your life, you must seriously examine your motivations and values. What’s pushing you for more? What is motivating you? Everything else is superficial until you begin to deal with your motives and values.

 Everything in society is geared to make us want more. It’s about more money, more achievement, more possessions, more thrills and experiences, and more activities. We are driven to want more than we have right now.

 If you’re going to build margin into your life, the place to start isn’t by clearing your schedule. It’s by examining your motivations. If you clear your schedule without addressing your motivations, it will work for a couple of months. But it won’t be long before you begin to fill your schedule with more and more activities, clients, and work. The place to start is dealing with your motivation. What’s causing you to want more?

 Secondly, pay attention to your limitations. Many of us overestimate our abilities while underestimating the time needed to accomplish tasks. We all have limits. One of the best things that we can do is to begin to recognize our limits and to live within them.

God designed you with limitations. You have physical limitations, emotional limitations, mental limitations, financial limitations, and space limitations.

You can only do so much. 

Signs that you have reached or are reaching your limit: fatigue, physical, emotional and/or spiritual pain, loss of joy, stress, anxiety and irritability.

When you see these warning lights you may be going “over the speed limit” and in danger of a blue light telling you to HALT while issuing you an unwelcome “ticket.”

What is important to you? DOING more or BEING more?

Start your day as I do with a TO BE list alongside my TO DO list.

“Today I want to be: compassionate, sensitive, patient…"

What would happen if we chose
. . . to live slow instead of fast?
. . . to be instead of do?
. . . to embrace renewal instead of exhaustion?
. . . to practice presence instead of distraction?

What would life look like if you focused on even 1 of these?

  Peace,

Julie