How we spend our days

I have just started reading a new book.

I picked up some words of wisdom which I would like to share.




"It's like washing the dishes. If you focus on getting the dishes done so that the kitchen will be clean, you miss everything that happens between dirty and clean. The warmth of the water, the pop of the bubbles, the movements of your hand. You miss the life that happens in the middle zone - between now and what you think your life should be like. And when you miss those moments because you'd rather be doing something else, you are missing your own life. Those moments are gone. You will never get them back.
...

The writer Annie Dillard says, "How you spend your days is how you spend your life." Be unwaveringly honest. Ask yourself how you want to spend your days." 

How you spend your days is how you spend your life.

The time is now.
I needed a reminder. 
I read that before bed.

And went to sleep with a renewed sparkle.


And this morning, Annie reminded me of just this fact.

How we spend our days is how we spend our lives.

She went out and picked flowers for breakfast.

She set her little table.
So that we could sit in the sun and eat our breakfast in the sunlight.
With her lovely flowers.

But I didn't see it initially.

I said, "Come on, we are going to be late for school."
Since getting to school on time is so much more important than paying attention to what you daughter is doing.

And she said, "But Mom, I did this for you. I wanted you to sit in the sun and enjoy a lovely breakfast."

I felt like such an unenlightened fool.

I apologised.
I thanked her for the wonderful table and great company for breakfast.

And we were late for school.

Did it matter?
No.

We spent our morning in the glory of the Spring sunshine.

While Xavier took the flowers out of the vase and drank the water!

That is how I spent my day.
That is how I am spending my life.

Blessings to you.

Comments

  1. Ola, that is beautiful. Thank you so much for reminding me to see the little nuances. :o) And thanks for the comment on my blog ... it meant the world to me.

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  2. Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans huh :)? We have this view it seems, that basking in the present moment is a luxury that we can only allow ourselves after we have 'done our chores' and 'done our work' - whereas the truth is clearly the opposite - allowing ourselves to bask in the present moment of ALL the activities we undertake, even the ones that we don't really want to do initially, is a right that we should learn to exercise and is a discipline that we should learn to master, for our own sake more than anybody else's.

    This also reminds me of the times at work when I work frantically the whole day only to ask myself at the end of the day "what have I actually done" :) - I clearly get this wrong all the time.

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  3. oh, gorgeous, precisely what i needed to read tonight. do let me know how this book works out for you ... the title is so interesting.

    xoxox

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  4. This is the third post now that I've seen about mindfulness and being in the moment during my blog hop today. I think I will take the hint :-) Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

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  5. I just reread that post and it was great all over again. And that Annie is a sweet soul.

    I don't know if you do memes - I really enjoy them - but I tagged you for one. I'd be interested to see what you say.

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