I think it's super easy to be distracted by the material, functional things in life; our bills, our houses & cars, and then our retirement~ or, our security within those years, until we go home to God. We seem to spend a whole lot of time involved in making money, either to ensure our needs/our family's needs are met~ or, for some, to amass wealth. While having enough money does provide a certain amount of functional security, it will never provide us with actual happiness...or, more importantly, real joy. That comes from things like the ones you mentioned here; helping others, singing, being in nature, being in prayer/connection with God~ that sort of activity. I can also remember spending a lot of time focused on relationships, curious as to why I don't have more of them, or even if I should have, is it abnormal & reclusive, or am I just super discerning maybe? Hmm. Truly appreciate & relate to your thoughts on not always being lighthearted/happy/positive, even wanting to wallow it, as you say~ likely because it offers us comparitive value. How could we recognize the easy, "bouncy" times for what they are, unless we also experience the quieter, more introspective- even fretful- periods, right? Sure is true for myself, to compare & contrast- wondering if I'm missing anything in between even- is something I spend time recognizing. It's impossible to always be "up", imho, & as I've aged it's become easier for me to see the value in those lulls~ the space or silence between the notes, right- 'selah', so to speak. Love that, and believe strongly in having such awareness. It helps. Anyhow, interesting thoughts to share. Thanks Peggy.Sammy
I think it's super easy to be distracted by the material, functional things in life; our bills, our houses & cars, and then our retirement~ or, our security within those years, until we go home to God. We seem to spend a whole lot of time involved in making money, either to ensure our needs/our family's needs are met~ or, for some, to amass wealth. While having enough money does provide a certain amount of functional security, it will never provide us with actual happiness...or, more importantly, real joy. That comes from things like the ones you mentioned here; helping others, singing, being in nature, being in prayer/connection with God~ that sort of activity. I can also remember spending a lot of time focused on relationships, curious as to why I don't have more of them, or even if I should have, is it abnormal & reclusive, or am I just super discerning maybe? Hmm.
Truly appreciate & relate to your thoughts on not always being lighthearted/happy/positive, even wanting to wallow it, as you say~ likely because it offers us comparitive value. How could we recognize the easy, "bouncy" times for what they are, unless we also experience the quieter, more introspective- even fretful- periods, right? Sure is true for myself, to compare & contrast- wondering if I'm missing anything in between even- is something I spend time recognizing. It's impossible to always be "up", imho, & as I've aged it's become easier for me to see the value in those lulls~ the space or silence between the notes, right- 'selah', so to speak. Love that, and believe strongly in having such awareness. It helps.
Anyhow, interesting thoughts to share. Thanks Peggy.Sammy