Things to Do

Things to Do

By John W. Vander Velden

In a world that seems to tug us in every direction, we feel overwhelmed.  Time needed for preparations of the days ahead alludes us as the demands we already carry leave few moments.  How do we face tomorrow when today ends with so many unfinished tasks?  Technology promised to free, but also adds new demands.  We are the first generation with these countless accesses, social and informational links to a larger world and uncountable people.  The sheer novelty of those possibilities draw us to spend minutes and hours examining posts most of no value, in our busy world another demand for our time.

There are only so many minutes and most of us are busy, but we seldom take the time to rank the importance of the things that call us.  That should be our priority.  To understand what we must accomplish, what we wish to accomplish, and what we allow to get in the way.  Recreation is important, and time spent “unwinding” necessary.  But it is the balance that we should seek.

As a farmer the spring adds its list of “to do’s”, so I understand the frustration of unreachable goals.  For I like all others have the “basic” stuff to do, mow the grass, pay the bills, etc., etc., etc.  Often weather interferes with the work that demand immediacy, plowing, tilling, planting, and all the rest.  The numbers on the calendar hurry past do not wait and dawdling achieves nothing.  This is my forty-forth season and I know my stamina much less than years past, yet my task list seems to grow.

On yet another rainy day, I wonder how I might accomplish all that is required.  I do not find it easy to just tell myself that it will all work out.  For though my heart might carry that confidence, my head continues to search for solutions to weather created interference.  I know that there is much beyond my control, but… 

I rarely sit idly by when there is so much to do.  My world moves whether it rains or skies are blue.  In twenty-four hours the calendar flips another page and there are no “mulligans”.  So in my crazy world I must do my best to prepare, try to be efficient with the time I have been allotted, focus on the things that matter most, love, and family, work as hard as I am able, and understand if I truly give it my best then…well, It will be good enough.

So for me and most others whose lives seem to be within a maelstrom, time has come to catch our breath, focus and carry on.  Wish me luck, and I’ll pray for you too… 

(448 Words)                6-29-2015