Each Day is a Gift.....

Roast of the Day: Medium

Can you believe that we are actually approaching the Christmas season in a couple of months? As such, I thought it only fitting that I blog about gifts.

Can you remember the excitement of Christmas back when you were a child? The anticipation of opening the gifts under the tree was almost unbearable. It didn't seem to matter what the gift was back then....only that someone loved us enough to wrap up something in pretty paper and give it to us. We would tear into that present with wild abandonment. We weren't concerned about saving the pretty wrapping paper or the bow. We just wanted to see what was inside the wrapping paper. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, we grew up...and opening presents became more of a tradition or ritual. We started neatly unwrapping the outer paper and folding it up, perhaps saving it for another use.

Our excitement and anticipation over the gifts has become diminished and our reactions to the gifts is, at best, predictable. Pleasantries and gratitude are still communicated, but true feelings and raw emotion are seemingly all but gone from the experience.

You've heard it been said that "each day is a gift." Well then, I wonder....how are you opening that gift each morning? Has it become a ho-hum ritual for you each and everyday? Do you neatly fold back the pretty wrapping paper and say your obligatory 'thank you' - all the while waiting for your next gift to be opened?

I, for one, believe we need to capture our childlike excitement once again. Imagine if we could wake up each morning and open our gift with the wild abandonment of our youth. Who knows what type of day is wrapped beneath that pretty paper, but the One who loves us and gave it to us.....Carpe Diem!

Don't let the mundane pass you by...

Today's Roast:  Medium

I have to start out by owning up to the fact that I am never going to be an everyday blogger.

There, I've said it. Although I'd love to scratch down my thoughts on a daily basis, it's really hard...not only to find the time (albeit I admit it's a bit easier for that during our current circumstances), but also figuring out content. I'm not sure I have enough interesting or deep thoughts to ramble on about.

With that said, I am going to try to commit to posting a blog on a weekly basis. However, you must understand that this is coming from an ENFP (for those of you that are Myers-Briggs aficionados) and a 7 (for those of you Enneagrams out there). In other words, my full intention is to keep up this this blog, but my follow through may be a bit lacking.

Now, onto the mundane.

Prior to our current circumstances, or if you happen to be one of the many essential workers that must actually go to the office or factory...perhaps you can relate to this post.

If any of you have a lengthy drive into work, it can become rather mundane. When I used to work in Maple Grove (for 28 years), every morning - Monday through Friday - I would drive virtually the same route to and from work. The commute would take roughly 35 to 45 minutes each way. Many times, if I was on the phone or listening to the radio, I could arrive at my destination seemingly on autopilot.

One morning, as was typical, I was driving my regular route, listening to the radio, busy with the thoughts of the coming day. Suddenly, I received a tap on my shoulder...."Look around you. My beautiful creation is all around you - and you are just passing it by." Obviously, this wasn't a physical tap on the shoulder - but the feeling was just as real. I turned off the radio and just began taking in all of the wondrous beauty that nature was displaying around me. The sun, the trees, things that I had driven by hundreds of times seemed new and fresh. I was amazed at how much I missed everyday on my drive into work...just because I was busy in the mundane.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating that we not pay attention what we're doing behind the wheel and drive with our heads out the window. But there is something to that old adage that we need to "stop and smell the roses." Take some time and notice all of the amazing creation around you. Don't let the seemingly mundane pass you by...