I love stuff. Period. I love experiences, big adventures to new cities, brand new journals to fill, anything made by Apple, a new toy for JMan, and (just about) anything off Amazon Prime. I fill my life with color, noise, memory making, and joy - and sometimes, in the form of stuff.
In addition to being a stuff lover, I'm also an experiential learner, one who often requires a little extra instruction every now and then. This week's lesson? Detachment from stuff. Gratitude for life.
In this week, I've had the privilege of experiencing so much more as a result of having a little bit less. While some construction was taking place on our apartment, we needed a roof over our heads. Being away from our home required a new commute for me to work, which meant relying on a second car we don't yet own. My bank account took a hit from a Superbowl ticketing scam that left me short on cash...and on tickets. All in all, I was seeing less and, yet, experiencing more.
I felt sheer bliss in sharing dinner and a King Street walk with my high school best friend and her family. I relished in a staycation with my husband at our cousins' home on the beach. I've been lent TWO cars..yes. two. I had the pleasure of receiving a phone call from a precious friend who is CRUSHING her goals and rocking this world. I enjoyed coffee with a friend and talked life, love, and the dream pursuit. I connected with a new friend over past experiences and career goals. I was treated to gals only date night, for which my tab was paid out of the loving kindness of my childhood best friend. I received the ultimate surprise, a profile book and playlist for my very first Spinning® class (complete with music and videos). I sipped coffee and talked life with two crazy great women who inspire me daily. I've fallen head over heels in love with the hubs, more-so than ever before.
As I grow up and open up, I'm (uber) present to the trials we face as a community of human beings. At the same time I was leaving my apartment and losing stuff, many of my friends were stunned with the news of a loved one lost or a devastating miscarriage. With each phone call or email of more news from those I love, the "hardships" of my own week disappeared. The material things in my life had (and have) no value. I detached.
And I was free.
Free to love fully. Free to be for those around me. Free to live in joy instead of bitterness or doubt.
When I reflect on the circumstances of any week (and this one in-particular) - the tangible pieces of events that occurred - I see less. When I center on matters of the heart, the relationships we have and the connectedness we experience as a result, I am overwhelmed by the magnitude of the more. The fellowship we share. The gratitude we offer. Living to love one another out of heartache and into healing. Those are the intangibles that make our lives rich. The rest is just stuff. And when we are for those around us, we foster a fullness that is the closest thing to real life this side of Heaven.
Thank the Lord.
In addition to being a stuff lover, I'm also an experiential learner, one who often requires a little extra instruction every now and then. This week's lesson? Detachment from stuff. Gratitude for life.
In this week, I've had the privilege of experiencing so much more as a result of having a little bit less. While some construction was taking place on our apartment, we needed a roof over our heads. Being away from our home required a new commute for me to work, which meant relying on a second car we don't yet own. My bank account took a hit from a Superbowl ticketing scam that left me short on cash...and on tickets. All in all, I was seeing less and, yet, experiencing more.
I felt sheer bliss in sharing dinner and a King Street walk with my high school best friend and her family. I relished in a staycation with my husband at our cousins' home on the beach. I've been lent TWO cars..yes. two. I had the pleasure of receiving a phone call from a precious friend who is CRUSHING her goals and rocking this world. I enjoyed coffee with a friend and talked life, love, and the dream pursuit. I connected with a new friend over past experiences and career goals. I was treated to gals only date night, for which my tab was paid out of the loving kindness of my childhood best friend. I received the ultimate surprise, a profile book and playlist for my very first Spinning® class (complete with music and videos). I sipped coffee and talked life with two crazy great women who inspire me daily. I've fallen head over heels in love with the hubs, more-so than ever before.
And I'm ready to do it all over again.
As I grow up and open up, I'm (uber) present to the trials we face as a community of human beings. At the same time I was leaving my apartment and losing stuff, many of my friends were stunned with the news of a loved one lost or a devastating miscarriage. With each phone call or email of more news from those I love, the "hardships" of my own week disappeared. The material things in my life had (and have) no value. I detached.
And I was free.
Free to love fully. Free to be for those around me. Free to live in joy instead of bitterness or doubt.
When I reflect on the circumstances of any week (and this one in-particular) - the tangible pieces of events that occurred - I see less. When I center on matters of the heart, the relationships we have and the connectedness we experience as a result, I am overwhelmed by the magnitude of the more. The fellowship we share. The gratitude we offer. Living to love one another out of heartache and into healing. Those are the intangibles that make our lives rich. The rest is just stuff. And when we are for those around us, we foster a fullness that is the closest thing to real life this side of Heaven.
"My Kingdom is not of this world...." John 18:36
No comments:
Post a Comment