The Most Important Thing

"Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest between two deep breaths, or the turning inwards in prayer for five, short minutes."

-- Etty Hillesum


We are so damn busy! Even when we don't have to be. Even our kids and grandkids are over- booked. They have schedules and PDA's and karate lessons and soccer practice, and piano lessons and dance lessons and parties to attend, and, of course, shopping at the mall, and.... Whatever happened to unstructured time spent alone, or with friends? When I was a kid I played on a Little League team, went to camp and did a few other organized activities, but my favorite part of childhood was just hanging out, enjoying the day and letting it naturally unfold.

In the midst of the mad whirlwind we call life, the quiet times may indeed be the most important times. And as Etty points out, those quiet times can be just small stolen moments, short prayers and rests between breaths, but they are vital to our sense of sanity. Most of what we do because we think that it is either necessary or important is neither. It's just filler. It's stuff that we do on automatic pilot so that we don't really have to examine our lives. It's repetitive behavior, born of the herd mentality, that helps us fit in, but rarely makes for a joyous, exuberant life.

So, just for today, ferret out those small moments of silence. Relish them. Relax into them. And then maybe tomorrow you'll find more. And more still the next day. Over time, who knows? Your life may open up. You may make the free, unstructured moments a priority rather than an afterthought. And the long, luxurious summer afternoons of childhood may rise again to take their rightful place in your life. And when they do, you'll realize that the most important thing is merely to enjoy.

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