“Hang on, my checkbook must be in here somewhere,” I told the thickly accented lady on the phone as I dug with one hand through an accumulation of tiny slips of paper. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly I am able to collect the debris of life inside my purse or how long I am willing to carry it around with me everywhere I go. When I hung up the phone, I weighed my bag in my hand and became aware of how heavy it had become.
“That’s it! I can’t take it anymore,” I told my two year old as he popped another grape in his mouth, perched on a barstool at the kitchen island.
“That’s it,” he repeated, laughing.
As I dug into my cleaning project I pulled out handfuls of receipts, grocery lists, to do lists, coupons, business cards, bills, prescriptions, and advertisements, then piled them all on the counter before me. It was then that I realized, my life could be summed up by these tiny slips of paper. Where I’ve been, what I’ve bought, what I need to do, what I worry about, it was all there in print in a crumpled pile of paper.
Which leads me to my question of the day: Are we living our lives in large murals or on tiny slips of paper?
Life gets distracting, or should I say the necessary paying of bills, going to doctor appointments, going to the grocery store, taking the kids to school, and getting work done part of life gets distracting. And, it is all too easy to get caught up in the day to day minutia of life and forget to live. I think life should be about family and friends, sunshine on your face and wind in your hair, laughter and silliness, and enjoying the beauty of the world around us. As I put away all of life’s litter and prepared my purse to receive more tomorrow, I made a vow to live in large murals. I will never get back this afternoon I spent with my little boy building towers and eating cookies, for this afternoon only happens once. I will give my family hugs and tell them how much I love them. I will make time to go for a walk. I will call an old friend and laugh at something she says. I will take a chance and be scared over the outcome. I will go to a party where I don’t know anyone and have the time of my life. I will try a new hobby, a new food, and a new style of shoes. I will finish writing my manuscript!
We only have this one chance to live today to the fullest. Don’t cheat yourself out of the good stuff in life by living your life within the confines of your tiny slips of paper. What are your large murals?
2 comments:
It is soooo easy to get lost in the minutia! (and btw, minutia is such a fabulous word to say aloud) There is a small part of me that loves scheduling things and organizing, making lists and paying attention to details. However, there's a much bigger part of me that loves to roll with life and just enjoy whatever happens. I'd say I have 3 large murals in my life. Family (just nuclear, not extended), friends, and my writing. All three of these bring me the most happiness.
I love the word minutia! It's funny that you would mention it because Mr. Alpha Male made fun of me for using it just yesterday when he read the post. I have since vowed to work it into a sentence every day for the next week, just to annoy him. Hahaha.
Post a Comment