Today my advice: Learn to be Still.
My whole life I have not been real good at being still. Now please understand that being still is COMPLETELY different than being lazy.
I will just tell you right now (and my wife can probably attest to the fact) that though I learned a good work ethic growing up I still have a firm grasp on how to be lazy. But when I say learning to be still I mean something else.
Most of my life has been lived as a vagabond, a rambling man.
I have lived in 9 different states (California, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Florida, and Missouri) and I wasn't even a military kid; we just moved often.
But beyond physically moving to different houses in different parts of the country I have never been really good at being still in my mind.
I love movies. What I like about movies is that it is really the only way I can turn my brain off for a while. From the time I wake up in the morning to the time I go to sleep (and sometimes even while I sleep) my brain is going a mile-a-minute.
I think about where I want to be in a year.
I think about what I would do if I won the lottery.
I think up contingencies for all the scenarios I think I might face in the next few days.
I meander down mental rabbit trials, sometimes taking days to get back to my original train of thought.
I wear myself out before I even go anywhere.
The down side is that when I get going I miss much of what is around me. Not only do I not stop to smell the roses, I don't even realize there ARE any roses.
It was not until I was about 25 or so that I learned to slow down, to be still.
I was reading my daily devotional when I came across Psalm 77:22, which reads, "I will meditate on all Your work and muse on all your deeds." (coincidentally, a friend of mine wrote an amazing song based on this verse).
I had heard of mediation used in other religions, mostly Eastern religions, but had not considered that meditation could (and should) be a part of a Christian life. I would have brushed it off but I was really desperate for a way to focus my mind.
Because the word has such a strong connotation in my mind I had a hard time getting past the word "meditate" until I realized that to meditate simply meant to focus or think deeply about something. So I decided to try it out.
One way I would meditate was to take one verse of Scripture during my devotional time and start writing, expounding the deeper meaning of the verse. Since I love to write this would open up all kinds of doors, like a brainstorming session. Afterwards I felt so alive, revived, energized, and directed.
A second way I would meditate was to simply take a short phrase about an attribute of God and think it over and over. Something like "God is Love" or "God is Just" would help quiet my mind in ways movies never would. After these times I would feel so at peace and so focused.
You know, come to think of it... I haven't done anything like that in a while. I am a little ashamed to say that it has actually been a while since I have even read my Bible regularly.
Perhaps this Thursday's advice is not only good for a younger me but a not-so-younger-me as well.
I think today I will try to relearn how to be still.
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