Ok, I have a goal to simplify, yet am complicating my life with yet another web page to work on, read, etc. Why?
Time is the one thing that puts us all on equal footing. You and I have the same 24 hours, day in, day out. We may not have the same number of years, but that is arguably out of our hands as well. You and I probably do not have the same footing in regards to gifts, skills, finances, relationships etc. In some I am weaker, in some I am stronger. But time is a different matter. I cannot pay more and get more time than you. I cannot beg, borrow, steal, and obtain more time. (Of course, one can pay to have someone else clean the house…)
I believe the way I spend my time demonstrates my values; what I find important, what I think is meaningful. Currently there is a large disconnect between my values lived out (the way I spend my time), and what I would profess as my values. So, this goal could be written more explicitly as:
“Spend more time on the important stuff, lest time on the fluff.”
I spend too much of my free time filling up my time. How absurd! I complain about not having enough time and then spend what time I do have on meaningless things (surfing the web, playing free-cell, you know the drill). So, I would like to make a concerted effort to spend time just plain not doing anything. You can call it praying if you like.
I suspect that I fill up my time out of fear. If I sit still and be quiet, I might start to wonder what the meaning of my life is. If I contemplate my life, I might start to wonder what God wants me to do with it. If I really simplify and spend my time on the important things, I will be putting my beliefs to the test. Scary.
