Inspire

I sometimes get this sense of urgency when I think about how disconnected we are. When we hear that word, most people think that it's referring to the world - as in, we're disconnected from the world around us, due to the fast-paced nature of society, the pull of technology, and other sorts of the similar. But lately, I've felt as though most of us are actually disconnected from ourselves. We don't spend enough time in thought, or in full consciousness, being aware of the beautiful world around us.

Now, I'm not going onto this whole "be in tune with yourself and follow your heart to find true peace" thing. I think that a lot of people use that particular sentiment as a substitute for pursuing God. I don't claim to be fully in-tune with Him, but I do feel as though, if each of us is made uniquely in his image, we have a responsibility to embrace that. Embrace humanity, embrace individuality - because it is one of the many gifts given to us by our Creator. And, in all things, remember that He knows us better than we know ourselves. He is constantly molding and shaping us into a purer version of ourselves, to be perfected in eternity... and I don't want to waste any part of my life and graze over who exactly it is that He is making me.

I don't know what form this will take or how I will accomplish it exactly. I have a few ideas, but all I know for sure is that these past two years have flown by, and I can't remember to what end I have worked so hard. Basically, I don't want to waste life. I want to invest in the people around me, embrace myself, and pursue God. And while I know that only He can give me the power and resolve to do that, I do have a few things on my mind that I think everyone, especially me, should aim to include as part of their self-discovery/molding process.

Here's a few for the immediate present, and I'll add more later.

Reading. I love reading, and I almost never do it. It has partly to do with my schedule now, but I've made time recently, and I don't know why I didn't make adjustments sooner. I'm talking about classics, memoirs, adventure, scholarly articles, short stories, historical fiction (and nonfiction), works from other cultures, everything. I have a huge stack of books here (and an even larger one at home) of books on my "list." Reading stimulates your creative side, and challenges your beliefs. It enables you to consider other points of view (for example, the antiwar novel my sister gave me for my birthday... doesn't exactly align with my worldview, but I'm reading it to understand the minds of others). I think I can make time to read once a day, even if it's just a few pages.

Being outside. It's beautiful... any kind of weather is beautiful. Even right now, when it almost never gets above freezing and the sun doesn't come out for months. I miss sunshine, and I don't have to make an argument for being outside when the weather is nice, but even if it isn't, it still smells fresh, and makes snuggling up with a big blanket and a cup of hot tea that much more soothing when I get back inside.

Writing old-fashioned letters. I don't really have a texting problem, because I get bored (haha), but I want to write more letters. Writing helps me to really think about what I'm trying to communicate to the person (who I probably haven't seen in a while and deserves my undivided attention instead of whatever half-hearted message I would send otherwise), and it requires focus. In the age of the internet and technology, our attention spans are dwindling (I'll do another post on this later), and this, along with everything else here, can help to combat that.

And that's all for now... it may seem simple or strange or maybe even typical - I don't want this to be another get-off-the-computer-and-go-do-something post. But it's a start for me, and hopefully for you.

Also, here's a song my roommate showed me this morning that made me feel inspired and ambitious. Enjoy :)