The other day I was going to lunch with a friend. I pulled out and "woke up" a few minutes later to discover I was on the way to the gym. I was thinking about other things, and since I usually go to the gym that way, my mind was automatically driving me there.
Made me think about my life in general. How much I do while in automatic mode thinking about other things. In some ways, this is good because there are chores that don't require much attention: vacuuming, dusting, washing dishes, laundry, etc. It's good that my mind can find a way to make the time pass more interestingly or at least not as boring.
Still, other things shouldn't be on automatic. Relationships with our family and friends. Don't they deserve our undivided attention and love? And in particular, our relationship with God. I thought about the many times I've tuned out the choir singing -- even while singing along -- and the many times my prayers were recited by rote rather than in a true conversation with someone who loves me more than anyone else in my life. Being in automatic means I didn't grow, didn't learn anything, didn't do anything except wait until church was over so that I could get to what I had planned for the rest of day.
We have to live a mindful life. We have to pay attention. There's so much in this world for us to see and to hear and to experience. But if we're in automatic, all those wondrous things will pass us by, leaving us untouched and small in the most basic ways.
Let's choose -- and I mean this especially for me -- to be awake and aware in this life. To drink deeply from all God has for us and to rejoice in living a mindful, fulfilled life.
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