I have been thinking about the difference between being conscientious and contentious. One means to be thoughtful about doing something the right way, while the other means to be argumentative. They are not opposites directly, but in a more figurative way they can be. I have long considered myself to be conscientious; seeking to think, speak, and act rightly. My thought has been that it is just as easy to get along as it is to create trouble or to engage in exacerbating it! While at the same time, I tend to be head strong and resolute about things of consequence to me, and often labor arduously over my position. In other words, I can be argumentative... contentious. Ironic as it is, I have the propensity to be both. I am both! Now comes the hard part; finding the balance. We should always be considerate and thoughtful, working to live out a higher purpose in our lives. And, it's okay to be passionate about what we feel and think. However, we have to be cautious to not be comba...
I woke this morning thinking about something my mother in law said to me many years ago. We were working in her garden just talking about life and she made a statement that has traveled with me as well as anything I've heard. She said, "the problem with young people is that they want now for themselves what I've worked my whole life to have!" Having thought about that many times over the years, I still find it to be true, but in a more general sense. We have to work for it... what ever It is! If it's a career or a relationship or a lifestyle or just a life; we have to work at it! In our smart phone, Internet, and information driven culture, we can become instant experts on virtually everything. But, all that we learn can't replace practical application and committed engagement to our cause and desire. You can build a house on paper, but somebody has to nail the boards together. You can create a spreadsheet of prospects, but you still have to sell something....
I am one of those people who clean out my closet at the first hint of Spring and as the first leaves fall in Autumn. It's a part of my ritual... just me. I spent part of this weekend completing the task. It was very different this time. Good in some ways, not so much in others. I have always thought of it as the seasonal swap... this go-round it felt more like a purge. It's probably the journey, maybe my state of mind, but I felt the need to let go. I kept asking myself, why did you buy that... or will you ever really wear them? Was it want or need that dictated purchase? Before I was done I had two large bags full of things. Our lives are much like that; a lot went into collecting all those things... a lifetime of want, desire, pursuit, remorse, anxiety, and on it goes. Yet, if we are not cautious, we pack and pile until we cannot put our hands on the things we need most; their lost in the minutiae or purposely hidden. I waited too long to purge. It's been needed ...
Comments
Post a Comment