Do you have a minute?

The day in the office starts as usual: phone ringing, messages waiting attention on the desk, and deadlines looming.  You know that the tasks needing to be completed exceed the eight and a half hours you plan to work today.

Suddenly, a friend calls with startling news and a major life crisis. He needs a listening ear.  "Do you have a minute?" he asks and you know that the minute will turn into half an hour. What do you do?
Most of us would not say, "Sorry, I have all these projects I need to complete. Call me later." We would offer the listening ear that our friend so critically needs.

Life calls for split-second decisions. Some must be made on the fly. Others allow us to invest some forethought. Either way, choices speak to our deeply held priorities. Many of us act upon core beliefs without thinking about or naming them. For example, the person who pushes back the chair and closes the door holds a deep belief that "friends come first."

The person who promises to call the friend back at the end of the work day might hold the deep value that work takes precedence over personal issues. Perhaps the employee promised something to coworkers and now feels keenly responsible.  Inner conflict occurs when competing values demand attention, or when we ignore our deep inner beliefs.

When we choose actions that dishonor these ingrained values, we feel stress. Life imposes the values of others on us, and we feel pressured to choose by someone else's set of beliefs. That is where we get in trouble.If we are too busy to even know our deepest desires, it is difficult to act upon them.

Peace of mind can be found in spending some quiet time, away from distractions, thinking about your deeply held priorities. It helps to write them down.  Seeing them is also different from hearing them. Let them sit a day or two and return to them. Were you truly honest with yourself? Do the day-to-day choices you make for spending your time belie your deepest values?

Stretch yourself

I keep hearing the benefits of exercise from a wide range of sources. It can ward off everything from heart disease and diabetes to hypertension and stress. So why is it so difficult to put exercise into a daily routine? Perhaps it is because it offers one more thing I have to do when life is already speeding along with a thousand other demands.
I picked up a free app last week at Starbucks for "Pocket Yoga" with a great image of someone enjoying a superior stretch.  Now if I could just find the time to download the app.
Maybe I will get to it after my walk. 
People in my neighborhood look at me funny because I like to book-walk. I combine a beloved hobby— reading— with much needed exercise. Yes, I sometimes clonk my head on a low-hanging tree branch, but I have learned to keep an eye out just above the printed page for uneven sidewalks. Some people consider me a danger to others as I stride along with a nose in an interesting novel. Who knows what obstacle I might encounter.
Those of us wrapped up in busy lives sometimes take risks as we multitask.
What other solutions do busy people use to combine something they enjoy with something that is yet another "have to do"?

On fire

What are you on fire about? In California fire season is well underway. High temperatures combined with drought conditions exacerbate the situation. Firefighters are busy!
Think about flames for a minute. They can be out of control or they can also be valuable tools for roasting marshmallows or lighting a dark cabin.
Each person has a fire inside that fuels emotions which may at times get out of hand. Harnessed, the fires of our passions give impetus for fighting injustices.
May today you find illumination as you examine what burns within you. 

A Gold Medal and Martian Landing

In what activity might you qualify for a gold medal? Think about it. While you may have to look beyond sports, it is very likely that you excel in something.  And no, nagging is not the kind of activity we are looking for here.
For some reason, people find it difficult to see the best about themselves, erroneously figuring that to identify the best in us shows  a lack of humility. In actuality, to recognize the honest truth about one's giftedness is genuine humility. You call a spade a spade. 
Scientists celebrate the successful landing of Curiosity on Mars. Could this team be worthy of a gold medal? It would be false to deny the achievement. You certainly don't see scientists saying, "Oh, it was nothing." Let us give the team the honor and recognition they deserve.
We, too, can find a deeper sense of peace if we look for our own achievements worth celebrating. I am going to strive for a gold medal today in the art of listening. I've been practicing. Like a 100 meter dash, I may have a short window today in which to achieve my goal. Fortunately, I will have many opportunities to "compete."