Fill The Gaps
I haven’t wanted to write lately and it’s not because I’m busy. We’re all busy. In fact, I’ve tried to completely remove the word busy from my vocabulary. Busyness is a choice. It also reveals your priorities. It’s okay to have a filled schedule until that schedule owns your sanity. Until you begin to fill your schedule with margin, you won’t have any. But that’s not what I want to talk about this week…
Holiday seasons are my favorite but they also have built in reminders if you’ll pay attention. Reminders like…
In October the leaves change - you’ll see cliche posts like, "embrace the beauty of change and let some things fall away from your life like the leaves.” Usually said by someone going through a break-up with someone they never should have been with anyway but hey - they were hot am I right?! It’s either that or some generic white girl pumpkin spice insta post and if that’s not inspiring, just leave it to the Christians who complain about kids dressing up and getting free candy while they play dress up each day pretending to be someone they’re not...
In November you have Thanksgiving - how easy is it to be thankful when we’re constantly reminded about it the entire month? Just try to remember to be thankful during the worst month of the year (February…don’t @ me) when it’s too cold to do anything but post on Facebook about how it’s too cold to do anything.
In December you have Christmas - I mean, how can you not be excited at least once during this month?! It’s cold but at least you get to put a real tree INSIDE your house and no one will judge you for it. Did you know that tradition was started in the 16th century? Believe it or not, humanity has lived longer without decorated trees in their houses than with.
But these reminders don’t really fill in the gaps. They’re momentary and only last for 25% of the year. So I recognized some gaps in my own life and began to challenge myself with four areas I needed to improve in to help my perspective the other 75% of the year…
G - gratitude. It’s impossible to grip and be grateful at the same time.
A - attitude. I have the power to change my attitude regardless of my circumstances.
P - present. I need to be engaged in the moments that matter and be where my feet are.
S - satisfied. I need to be satisfied in my process - contentment without complacency.
As I've filled in the gaps, I’ve noticed my joy increase.