"BEWARE THE BARRENNESS OF A BUSY LIFE," SOCRATES

                                           One Moment

You're always so busy

With no time to spare

To sit down and talk to me.

Pull up a chair.  

Weeks pass by so quickly,

The days just fly by.

It's hard to take breaks,

But I know we can try. 

Our work is important. 

     There's so much to do

But all that I want

Is some time with you. 

You always work hard,

Can you please leave the mess,

And give me one moment

                                   Of sweet happiness?

                                             daphnesdiary.com (revised by NN)

Does this verse trigger a question for you?  "Who is it who wants a moment with me?"  I think we all have someone whispering in our ear.  Our mom?  An elderly relative? A child? A neighbor?  Who?  Who should each of us slow down for?  Who needs a phone call, a visit, our undivided attention, our concern? 

When my dad was alive, for me it was he.  At 90 all he wanted was a visit.  Once when I stopped by after work he was sitting in his lobby.  I said, "How are you daddy?" and he said, "I'm fine.  I made it to this chair and now you're here."  He said it in a way that let me know how special I was to him.  How wonderful when our presence can be a gift. He never held my absences against me.  

I decided then and there to give him a jar of "Special Moments" that he could unfold and read when he was alone.  I cut scraps of paper and wrote good memories on each one.  Something we had done together, or that he had done for me and would be glad that I remembered. The times we went sleigh riding; how he cooked me fried eggs in the morning; the dollhouse he built; Law Day in the courthouse; and many more.  It took no time at all.  He often looked through that jar, he said.  Now that he's gone, it belongs to me. 

Many of us know the poems of Mary Oliver.  One of my favorites is "The Summer Day."  The last two lines read, 

Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?   

It's a challenge, isn't it?  Our moments and how we spend them.  As far back as 470 BCE, Socrates warned that busyness could make our lives arid and unproductive.  What then of the wildness we should grasp before our winter years (and even then)? 

In our church we sing, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow."  If someone desires to share some of their precious life with us, we are blessed indeed.  Let's make sure that we are not too busy to notice; and then we can bless them in return.                Nina Naomi