Author: Scott

An Abundant Life

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“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” ~Jesus (John 10:10)

What makes for an abundant life?  When we think of abundance, it’s easy to consider only of material things: food, money, leisure activities.  While we can certainly have a life with an abundance of these things, I think there other, more important items that make for an abundant life.

As a Jesus-follower, when I think of what makes for an abundant life, I think of non-tangible things like: peace, joy, deep connection with friends and family, and contributing somewhere in a meaningful way, are just a few examples.  Even though these non-tangible items of abundance can be myriad, they can also be easily overlooked.

Take some time this Thanksgiving week to ponder the intangible items that bring abundance to your life, and perhaps even choose to invite more of these items into your life.  The abundance you seek is likely just a choice away. 

Being Curious

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I heard someone talking about mindfulness recently, in a way that I hadn’t heard it discussed before.  They mentioned that when you’re mindful, you’re able to be curious about how you’re feeling in a situation before you just automatically respond to it. 

For example, if a car cuts you off, is your first inclination to lay on the horn, assume the worst about the other driver, or worse?  (Yeah, me too!)  If, however, we’re being “mindfully curious” we might instead ask something like:

  • “Why am I so upset by someone else’s driving? “
  • “I wonder what caused them to do that?”
  • “Why do I feel the need to vent my frustration at this person?”
  • “Is this how I’d want another driver to treat me if I accidently cut them off in traffic?”   

I’ll speak for myself here, but it often seems like I have an autopilot of negative responses that assume the worst in people.  These responses manifest themselves in my thoughts, words, and behavior with hardly any effort on my part.  They feel almost automatic.

Being a person, whose knee-jerk reaction is to respond negatively, is not who I want to be.  As a result, I’m going to work on being more curious of how I feel when I want to react negatively, so that I can gain some perspective and make a better decision.  A decision that better aligns with the person I want to be. 

Now We Have A Deadline

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For years, my wife and I have been saying that we need to get a will done.  It’s one of those things that’s extremely important, not super urgent (that we know of!), and is easy to put off.  We finally connected with a professional to help us.  One thing I appreciate, is that we have a day on the calendar when we will sign off on the completed document.  Now we have a deadline.

While we still have some work to do, having a “complete-by-date” on the calendar is just the motivation (and accountability) we need to ensure that we’ll see this task to completion! 

If you’re struggling to complete a task that you know needs to be done, consider creating a real deadline.  What would be even better, would be to link that deadline to someone who will hold you accountable.

Sometimes a date on the calendar is all the motivation you need.   

We Choose

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We get to choose how we behave.  We choose how we conduct ourselves, the words we use, our attitude and our outlook.  Ultimately, all these choices we make form us into the people we become and the lives we create.

While it’s easy to say that, “They made me…” or “I just can’t help it”, or any other lame derivative of those statements, remember that we ultimately choose how we behave.

What kind of choices are you making?

Capture It

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I had a great idea for a topic to write about in this week’s post!  The idea just popped into my head as I was getting ready Thursday morning, and I was eager to tease it out later in the day.  When I sat down to recall the topic, it wasn’t there.  Like a vapor, the idea seemed to leave my head as mysteriously as it showed up. 

I love the comment “Your head is a great place for having ideas, but it’s a lousy place for storing them”.  What I should have done on Thursday morning, was to take 15 seconds to jot the idea down.  I didn’t need to write the whole post, this the highlights.  Enough for a good mental trigger, to remind me of the idea when it was time to sit down and write.  Fortunately, there will be other opportunities to do likewise!

Does your mind supply you with good thoughts and ideas you want to remember for later?  If so, I encourage you to capture them when they occur.  How you capture it isn’t important; in a journal, on a scrap of paper, digitally on your phone or computer, it really doesn’t matter.  The important point is to capture the idea in the moment, so you have it when you need it. 

Having Each Other’s Back

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Last weekend as I was leaving the grocery store, I saw a man in the parking lot who had locked his key in his car, and was trying to retrieve them through his partially opened window.  From what I saw, it was obvious that he wasn’t going to be successful.

I then noticed another person, who had also seen what was going on, walk up to the guy’s car and offer to help.  This person apparently had smaller arms than the owner of the car, because they were able to rather quickly retrieve the keys from the car.  Apparently, the car owner’s dog was also locked in the car, so I’m sure the dog was as happy to be set free as the owner was to have his keys!

Although this may seem to be a small act, I’ll bet the owner of the car didn’t think it was. 

Let’s be on the lookout for simple ways we can “have someone’s back” who needs assistance.  If we were in a similar situation, wouldn’t we want someone to have ours?

Cause It To Happen

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By the time this blog is posted, I’ll be back from a trip to the San Juan islands in Washington state.  This is some place we’ve wanted to go for many years, but other destinations have always taken priority.  This year however, we decided to make it a priority and pay a visit. 

I’m amazed by how many cool places are in our back yard (relatively speaking) that we haven’t seen yet.  I’m also amazed how easily these places can be deprioritized simply because they are so close.  Like most things, it takes intention to actually get to them. 

Is there anything that is relatively close to you (geographically or otherwise) that you’d like to experience that you haven’t yet?  Perhaps now is the time to cause it to happen.

Give The Process A Chance To Work

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I just got through spending time learning new riffs on the electric bass.  Learning a new riff is often frustrating for me because when I listen to someone playing the riff I’m trying to learn, it seems so easy.  Then I start playing it and I’m no where as smooth crisp as the recording I’m listening to.  For some reason I feel that I should be able to pick the riff up in just a couple of minutes, and play it as good as the person on the recording. 

HA!  That NEVER happens!

What I don’t see or hear in the recordings is all the practice that the person put with the riff in order to play it so well.  I’m just seeing the finished product, without any mention of the process to get to that point.  It makes perfect sense to me that I would have to go through the same process too, but still, I always feel a sense of frustration that the process isn’t much faster.

This frustration can drive us in 2 directions.  First, it can cause us to remember that it will take time to achieve mastery of the challenge we seek, and commit ourselves to putting in that time, or it can cause us to give up and walk away, without giving the process a chance to work.

As for me, I’m deciding to commit to the process.  Not just with the electric bass, but with other areas of life that require time before I achieve the results I seek. 

Whatever area of improvement you’re striving for, be sure to give the process a chance to work.

A Reminder

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This week I finished listening to the audio book “E.R. Nurses”, in which about two dozen ER nurses describe some of their experience.  It was eye-opening!

I work as an IT person for a hospital, so I am a little familiar with and emergency department.  However, I had no idea of the scenarios these nurses have on a regular basis.  The biggest thing that stood out for me was how often they have to jump from one tragic event to another, without much time to process what happened.  I am grateful for these nurses and the work they do.

The book reminds me that I often have no idea what struggles and challenges people are facing on a daily basis.  In light of that, I’m also reminded that I would do well to show grace to others. 

Slowing Down

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Based on a recommendation, I recently started reading the book “Mindfulness” by Gill Hasson.  One thing I realized, even before finishing the book’s introduction, was that I would have to slow down when reading this book.

Even in my early reading of this book, I found myself re-reading sections, marking passages and making notes in the margin.  There are also parts that are good for reflection and journaling.  None of this would be possible if I didn’t slow down.  In the case, the object is not to turn pages as quickly as I can, but rather to get the most out of the book that I can apply in my life.

I think there are many instances where we would do well to slow down.  Perhaps we should slow down in our interactions with those important to us and actually listen to what they saying and be present in our conversations.  We could even throttle back our pace and take greater notice of our surroundings, noticing the beauty that becomes invisible at speed.

Are there any areas in your life where you might benefit from slowing down?  If so, give it a try.  You might just be surprised by what you notice.