Chlling

I know one of the most difficult things for type A workaholic types is to just chill. Yes, just sit, relax and do almost nothing! I know that I get guilt pangs at times if I’m not being productive and have something to show for my time. The last week or so has been a transition from a busy spring with a large painting blitz and graduations that finished well before our summer program starts. I just got into a text duel with someone about sleeping in when you could go hiking with us in the morning.

I know that my mom was always a proponent of not putting off something that you could actual do in the present tense. My challenge is that I’m learning to work in reverse. Instead I now am thinking what has to be done today and what can I do tomorrow that will allow me to focus on quality and not quantity? I know that speed and accuracy don’t always go together. It is so easy to be in a rush to get something done only to have to pick up the pieces. I’m also figuring out it is better to do like things together instead of being a scatterbrain.

I laughed because over the weekend we actually did some chilling at a nice resort. We were able to do an incredible hike up a rather step incline on two of the mornings. I know that the first time you do a hike you are somewhat walking in the dark not knowing what to expect and how long it will actually take. The second day it becomes so much easier and more fun because your focus isn’t on finishing but enjoying the incredible panoramic sites.

I actually laid in my bed and listened to one of favorite bands from the 60’s while I digested a rather interesting book written by an Indian, not Native American, about how Christian Culture had impacted India and other places in a very positive way that produced excellent education and business growth. What was funny for me was that this author used examples of 60-70’s music to get his point across.

Yes, there is a balance between chilling too much and working too much. I know that most think that God created long weekends to avoid during real work. I read a book by one of my professors in grad school that talked about the relationship between work, play and worship. His point, which I totally understood, was that too often we worship playing, play at worship and work is left somewhere in-between. The reality is that we need a holistic balance in our lives that sees our spiritual lives being enriched, our recreational lives being nurtured and then our careers or jobs taking the proper place in our lives. (This doesn’t mean that work is what we live for!)

One of the learning curves of living in under resourced neighborhoods is that too many of our teens and young adults have never worked hard, exercised to such an extent that they were exhausted and then learned how to have fun and enjoyment without electronic ‘stuff’. I hear the phrase too often, ‘I’m BORED’. This always ticks me off because usually we are doing something which I perceive as being fun, entertaining and out of this world. Yet, for someone that is hyperactive it is very difficult to sit still long enough to read more than a page of two from a great book.

I’m laughing because my Anne is listening to 100 different versions of the Lord’s Prayer to find just the right one for her chapel service in a few days. She’s hadn’t figured out iTunes until now and is now able to preview songs without buying. It takes time to figure out something new and then all of a sudden you are the expert who can train someone else how to search the web for some different type of music.

I know that writing for me becomes a form of chilling where I can express my heart, thoughts and better understand myself, the world around me, my neighborhood and my God.