During the summer and early fall, I spend most of my Saturdays mowing, so I have a lot of time to think. Thus, I share many thoughts about what lessons can be learned on the mower.
Last Saturday was no different. I found myself on the mower for a good portion of the day. Depending on what else I have planned on a Saturday, I sometimes wear a watch when I mow. I wear the watch to know how much longer I have to mow before stopping to get to the other things on my Saturday to-do list. The days I wear my watch, I feel that the mowing is taking so long.
Yesterday, I had nothing on my to-do list, but getting all the mowing done since the last rain helped it grow so much. I didn’t wear a watch since I knew I was not under any time constraints. The interesting thing about my mowing yesterday watch-free was that I enjoyed it much more.
While realizing I enjoyed mowing more when I was watch-free, I began to think about all the time constraints we face in life. We face so many during the day, from work to family to an infinite number of reasons. I think that, like my time on the mower wearing a watch, we miss out on the enjoyment of life because of those time constraints. We have to get from here to there to take care of this thing or that thing. We got to the end of the day and got all the tasks but did we enjoy the day?
When I am mowing and wearing a watch, I often miss the beautiful day, the sounds of the birds chirping, the gentle breeze, the wonderful sunshine shining down on me, and the gift of a new day.
My challenge to each of us on some days is to ditch the watch in life and enjoy the simple things of the day.
The simple things are many times the greatest gifts.
Your Friend,
Aaron