Time, Intimacy, Simple Living ~ Free Cards Friday

I place here, for you to ponder, a paragraph from a book that has become a life manual for me over the last year. A most-wonderful book that has been opening my mind page by page (I just started at the beginning again this week) in regard to… Everything that is important to me.

Every time I read this particular paragraph I am stunned by its accuracy, its obviousness, yet the clear truth that so many just don’t understand it. I am not saying that I have things figured out ~ but I am saying that this paragraph (just one inspirational paragraph in a book riddled with inspiration and insight) seems, to me, capable of unraveling so many inter- and intrapersonal issues that we may face.

Our Intimacy Famine. From The Simple Living Guide by Janet Luhrs

“Our time famine is really an intimacy famine. It is much easier to stay busy and frantic than it is to love and know ourselves and others deeply. We’re busy because we want to be busy. Staying busy appears to give our lives meaning (just look at all of the things I have accomplished and all of the things I do in my life!), and staying busy is safe. We don’t need to really get in and look at our lives when we’re rushing from one thing to the next.”

“A speeded-up life not only robs us of time to connect with others, but it also makes us impatient and angry. We don’t have time to listen to our partner’s point of view. We don’t have time to wait for a bank teller who is just learning. We don’t have time for our children. We don’t have time for ourselves. When we’re overscheduled, we become selfish, because our whole day is spent trying to catch up and our night is spent trying to recuperate…”

©Janet Luhrs http://www.simplicityjourney.com/

And a final thought about Simple Living ~ Simple Living is not about living in a white-walled house with few items and trying not to spend money ~ Simple Living is about making choices about how we spend our time and our money, how we spend our days and being conscious of the moments as they happen. Simply choosing fewer/more intimate interactions, versus more/less intimate interactions. Simply not getting caught up in buying~doing~going~having~impressing.

I want to do simple intimate activities with my children this season ~ and as soon as school gets out (after next week) I am itching to go pick up my grandma at her house and do something special with her and my boys. Time spent talking and listening with my two grandmothers (my boys and I are so blessed that they have two great-grandmothers) in a slow and intimate, rambling way is one of my favorite things.

What do you like to do with your loved ones this season (and/or all year long) that nourishes your connections and feeds your soul?

It’s Free Cards Friday! Add your comment to this blog post (here at the blog or on the Facebook page) throughout the weekend and be in the running to win some cards ~ I’ll choose the winner on Monday.