Are you living the 200 year plan?

Are you living as if you will be on this planet another 200 years? Many of us live today as if we had an unlimited future here.  At my quilters group, someone brought in all the unfinished projects of a woman who had passed away. Lots of beautiful scraps lay on the table, and I began to pick up greedily a pile of beautiful fabrics and lone quilt squares. An 80-year-old woman in our group, a woman of charming wisdom, said, "I would have to live another 200 years to finish the projects I  already have in my sewing room at home! I certainly can't take on any more of these projects."
She caused me to pause. I, too, have a sewing cupboard full of ideas, patterns, fabrics, and inspirations. With all I already have, I would need to live perhaps another 100 years to complete most of them. And so I edited the pile of scraps in my hand to a select few, but the words of my wise quilter friend repeated themselves in my mind all week long.
What if each of us lived as if we only had another 200 days on the earth? What changes would you make to what you will do today? What if you were only to live another 20 days? What would you have wanted to do today?  What if 20 hours from now you get hit by a bus? What would you have wanted to do in the next 20 hours?
I think about my daughter going through my sewing stash, tossing scraps with a shake of her head. "What in the world was mother thinking when she saved this?" I can see her opening a drawer and saying, "What did mother have in mind when she held on to these?"  If I were present, I would tell her that those labels are going to make a fabulous postage stamp quilt some day.  But will some day ever arrive?
I suspect that busy people like me overestimate what they can accomplish, making lists where half the items carry over, undone, onto tomorrow's list.
What do you have stuffed into a drawer, collecting dust in a corner, or waiting in a closet for your attention? Think about my wise quilter friend, and do something important today! 
What do you feel is important? A kind word to a stranger that pays itself forward in other kindnesses will transform the world over time. A smile instead of a self centered, stressed out comment can brighten someone's entire day.
None of us will be here 200 years from now. So make today a day of looking for the beauty, seeking out the sweetness hidden somewhere within the next 200 seconds. 

Be kind.

Who did you meet today? I mean who did you speak to that you never spoke to before? Did you add a smile to someone else's day? Perhaps you were kind to someone in line at the supermarket, or chatted in a friendly way while you waiting for an appointment.
What if that chance encounter provided the unknown other with just the energy they needed to go forward? 
Is kindness in such ample supply that we don't have to spread any more around? Are we in the habit of doing it out sparingly to strangers?
Or is kindness something we have to multiply by making an effort to demonstrate it in public? I suspect that the latter is true. If so, we can make a brighter world.

Happy New Year

It's January 3rd and a glance at the wall calendar reveals no surprise: It still shows November.
So what if I am a little behind? It happens to the best of us.I engaged in the expected and beloved rituals of the Christmas season, from baking to wrapping, even though my first cards went into the mail today.
It's time for a new year while the residual of the old still sits in stacks on my desk.  When will I learn to scale back the expectations for what I can accomplish in a day, or a month?
It is time to turn over a new leaf. So I rotate the calendar pages. First I glance at the birthdays on the December page, wondering how many received greetings, and I move on to January. 
Yes, my Christmas decorations are all still in place, and will be for another week. Why rush?  I savor the memories of holidays just lived. It is not easy to let go.

Here we are again

It may seem too early to talk about resolutions. But I'm reflecting today about my resolution to make this holiday season different. I resolve to rush less and relax more. I would stress less about gift buying and enjoy more of the holiday concerts, get togethers and conversations with valued friends.
Today, then, is a time to step back and look at that resolution. How am I doing?  This is not a time to measure shortcomings, but to take an honest analysis of where I am and compare it to where I would like to be.
Am I behaving like a person of peace? Am I bringing encouragement to others? Am I insisting on being first during that lane change and first into the store doorway?
What is my sore back telling me about the wrapping and decorating I have been doing? They let me know that I am overdoing it again. So for today's pot luck party, I will let go of trying to impress my friends with my culinary skills and show up with a bottle of store-bought dip and 2 boxes of crackers.
For me it is a step towards truly enjoying today.
May today bring you moments to step back, evaluate, and enjoy more.

One of the best gifts to give

At this time of year, we rush and scurry to decorate, cook, clean, party, and fill the calendar with important stuff. (Or is it important?)
Today someone asked me to listen. I was simultaneously nodding and gesticulating to the Goodwill attendant and I was dropping off unneeded items (don't we have homes full of them, really?) The person on the phone did not know that I was soon driving to the next errand as I gave half an ear to her concerns. I am ashamed to admit this dual "listening."
Earlier in the day, a different phone call  held a different scenario. I sat motionless in the chair, stopping all activity, and I focused on the voice on the other end of the line. It was one hundred percent listening, even though the calendar tried to tempt me to "away! away! Do two things at once!"
Who in your day will request the gift of listening from you?
How willing will you be to offer the gift?
Listening is one of the best gifts you can give someone else this season.

Time change

Blink! We get another hour. That's the gift for those of us who live under the collective spell of Daylight Saving Time.
 What did I do with my extra hour? My body rebelled as it tried to awaken at its usual time, and struggled to stay awake an hour later.  At the restaurant where we ate breakfast, the waitress commented that everyone seemed out of whack today. I wondered why it wasn't dinner time yet, and being Sunday, I actually took it easy for one more hour.
One day a year, we wedge an extra hour into a day.  At the same time the days are getting shorter as the light stays with us a little less and less. Wouldn't it be great if we could all call, "Time change!" about three months from now, when we really need it to recover from the holidays, and give everyone another hour?
Of course, the inevitable counterpoint and much less welcome loss of an hour will bite us in Spring. Why do we put ourselves through this illusion? Who are we kidding here? 

The most important task of the day

Time is running out you say? The most important task of the day remains unfinished? And now someone else pops into the office, desperately in need of a few minutes.
As one busy person to another, we offer understanding, patience, but most important of all, listening.
I may never get a handle on the day. But if I can ease someone else's burden, it is enough.

Yesterday I was able to help a man who recently accepted custody of a niece who had been neglected and abused. I gave the unemployed man the best gift I could think of as the baby toddled around us: I listened. I looked at the pictures he proffered of this child before the courts intervened and I cried.