Get to

This post is about lists.  We love lists at our house.  They help us remember even the small stuff, free up mental space once they get written down, and it is soooooo satisfying to mark something as complete or cross it off the list.

Although they are very helpful, they can be very detrimental.  They can be easily seen as to-do lists.  They're not.  They're get-to-do lists.  It's easy to forget the 'get'.  It's very important not to.  I do the dishes most nights.  I put that on my list.  They are there waiting for me most nights.  I do them.  On the nights they are on my to-do list and I forget the 'get', it's a chore and I can't wait to be done.  On the nights they are on my get-to-do list, doing the dishes is so pleasant.  I think much of the time that these dishes got dirty in the first place because we had food and we'll probably use them again tomorrow and I'll probably get to do this again tomorrow night.

This attitude shift applies to so much in our everyday.  It makes chores I have to do into pleasant things I get to do.  I don't want to confuse this shift with some annoying always look on the bright side attitude.  It's not that.  It's often a small shift and it grows over time.  It takes effort to shift attitude, but it's possible.

Taher, remember you get to.

Trail

I heard this beautiful analogy. Two people walked together on this trail and different people were on the trail walking with them throughout. I imagine the trail had views and bumps along the way. Gardens and trees grew alongside as the travelers walked and tended to them. The most beautiful and perhaps sad part was that the grass grew tall behind them as they went on. There was no trail behind them. 

Taher, tend to the garden and the trees in front of you. 

Saving

Saving "it" is pretty common refrain.  I think the "it" can refer to many different things.  It can refer to a few major themes like money, effort, or grace.  It also has a lot of different contexts within those themes that it can apply to.  In general, saving money seems like a good thing.  It generally seems like a good way to live.  That saving mentality can be pervasive though.  It can easily creep into to other aspects of life like effort or even grace.

I'm older now than I once was.  That tends to happen.  My view on saving has changed.  Earlier on in my life, I would try to save every penny.  Saving money is good if you have a plan.

Maybe I'm wiser now.  Probably not just a bit older.  My perspective has changed.  My understanding of how tenuous plans can be has gotten deeper.  Maybe the better way to live is not to save.  I don't think it's smart to be irresponsible.  Why save it though?  That's a good question.  Use it.

Hopefully, not saving will creep into other aspects of life like effort and grace.  That now seems like a better way to live.

Taher, ask yourself, "what are you saving it for?"