A couple of weeks ago I was asking someone older and wiser how he thought I should spend my last several weeks of sabbatical.
His response: "Don't spend these last weeks spooling up. You start back March 16th, that's when you start thinking about campus work again."
Great advice for type-A folks like me who tend to over-think and over-worry things well in advance. I've waited thirteen years for my sabbatical, why give away one-fourth of it by ramping up for something that will come whether I ramp up for it or not?
It makes me wonder in the big-picture how very much of my life I foolishly give away thinking about a time or events that will take place in the near or distant future. How many opportunities for laughter, prayer, caring for someone, or meeting the Lord in a situation have I missed because I'm too far-sighted to see what's right in front of me?
My good friends Willis and Amy Weber have a great phrase for this that I posted on about a year ago: the amnesia of the now. The post tries to capture some of the brilliance of their delightfully wise phrase. Lord, protect me from this sickness.
Ergo, I'm drilling even deeper down into sabbatical land: more great books (Perelandra this week, the C.S. Lewis book from whence the name "Piebald Life" came) , quality time at Starbucks and Panera, long naps, lunches with friends, time with the family...and UNC basketball.
Speaking of which, hope the Heels pull tonight's game out. It's half-time and we look decent so far, but this is NC State's Superbowl. They'll be eager to come out strong in the second half.
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