24 Hours is Enough . . .

“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.” Publius Ovidius “Ovid” Naso (43 B.C.-A.D.17)

In the rush of today’s world I have only one recourse to take to use my time wisely and for the purposes I desire. That recourse is hard to obtain. It’s called self discipline.

Discipline means a systematic method to obtain desired results. Self means me. I have to determine to take control of my days. I have found there is enough time in each day to do all that I want to do; that is, if my priorities are in order, and I live by those priorities..

Several years ago a neurologist diagnosed that my brain didn’t know how to relax; hence, it was always tense. That’s why I had lived with headaches every day of my adult life. We settled on medication that helped me, and now I'm almost headache free, but I made a decision that my life was going to slow down.

Aside from my job, which I go to five days a week, all other activities and plans were placed in priority order. I consciously accepted that I didn’t have to do everything or go everywhere. My fulfillment had to come from doing less and enjoying it more. And it has!

The first thing I did was build a routine into my schedule for waking in the morning and going to bed at night. Even on weekends. Receiving the proper amount of sleep was vital to my ability to take control of my life.

As boring as routine sounds, it liberated me. I’m running to my own clock and feeling the benefits. With my priorities in place, there is no longer guilt that I should be doing something else. I’ve accepted my skills and talent; chose the activities where I can used them, and released all other obligations.

A favorite quote comes from Robert Frost: “There’s absolutely no reason for being rushed along with the rush. Everybody should be free to go very slow.”

I now have time to relax and rest my body. Several months ago I saw a pillow in a catalog which had the following saying on it: “How beautiful it is to do nothing and then rest afterwards.” I never had time before. I do now.

Doing less has not deteriorated my quality of life. With my priorities before me, I have plenty of time to be responsible to my call of God. And that’s really all that is important anyways.