SINCERELY SCOTTY BY Walter Scott 1-22

I picked up a pen

“The most important things in life aren’t things” – Illinois First Christian Church

I picked up a pen the other day – it was one of the type with advertising on it. It was a colorful pen with a blue sky, a setting sun showing through a tree and it said “Simplify your life” in bold letters.  It made me stop and think – “How do you do that? What is the secret to simplifying your life?”  We all get into a rut or pattern of doing things.  We worry about things we have no control over.  We, as human beings, seem to take delight in making life complicated.  Here is a good example:

The Pythagorean theorem is defined in 24 words; the Lord’s Prayer in 66 words; the 10 Commandments in 179 words; Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, 286 words; The U.S. Declaration of Independence, 1,300 words; and finally, the U.S. Government’s regulations on the sale of cabbage – 26,911 words!

Every so often Jacque and I try to sit down and plan the next few weeks out – we’re now trying to determine when to go on an extended camping trip north late in the spring. However, before we have time to put our plans into effect, something most likely comes along to interrupt them.  We had planned to go somewhere this fall, but two surgeries – one for her and one for me ruined that plan, Ben Bayol once said, “Most plans are just inaccurate predictions!” I think he was right.

But maybe, just maybe, planning isn’t the way to simplify one’s life.  If you haven’t noticed, we live in an “I WANT” society.

How often have you heard a young person say, “I want to make a lot of money so I can buy this or do that – what profession do I need to be in so I can be rich? But I don’t want to work too much.”  Things-possessions seem to be most important.  Well, I’ve got news – “there ain’t no Brinks trucks in a funeral procession.”  All too often we are in search of the wrong ‘things’ and don’t appreciate what we have.

Lisa Beamer, wife of Todd Beamer, (he’s the one who said, “Let’s Roll’ and helped bring down the plane headed for Washington D.C.) told of a teacher she had who lost her husband to a sudden heart attack.  One day, about a week later, as the late afternoon class was nearly over, the teacher paused and said, “Class is over, I would like to share with all of you, a thought that is unrelated to class, but which I feel is very important.  Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and give of ourselves.  None of us knows when this fantastic experience will end.  It can be taken away at any moment.  Perhaps this is the powers (God’s) way of telling us that we must make the most of every single day.”  Her eyes beginning to water, she went on, “So I would like for all of you to make me a promise.  From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice.  It doesn’t have to be something you see, it could be a scent, perhaps of freshly baked bread, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light catches one autumn leaf as it falls gently to the ground.  Please look for these things and cherish them.  For, although it may sound trite to some, these things are the ‘stuff’ of life.  The little things we are put here on earth to enjoy.  The things we often take for granted.”

Perhaps, the way to simplify our lives is to simply stop and smell the roses.

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