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Stop and Go

Stop and Go –

Ever feel like traffic lights are purposefully hindering your travel? Yesterday I attended an event in a city about an hour and a half from our house. I left early enough to still arrive on time if there was any trouble on the way. Fortunately, there were no accidents or incidents but it seemed as if every traffic light was red or turning red when I approached. It was frustrating! It all evened out on the way back because it was mostly green lights but then I didn’t have to be somewhere at a certain time.

The stop and go of driving is draining for me. You build up some momentum only to have it taken away by watching a green light turn yellow and then red. There’s the thought of speeding up when the light is yellow or ignoring a just changed red light but that’s how accidents happen. As my truck sits there at the light, my eyes focused, waiting for it to turn green I hear the voice of wisdom in my head; “The lights aren’t doing this on purpose. You have plenty of time. There’s no need to feel rushed. Don’t give into the frustration. Breathe Brian. Breathe.” Usually, I can catch myself before I lose it and was able to yesterday although it was close! I arrived at the event with plenty of time to spare. The day was not ruined by traffic lights. All was well.

Life is similar at times. We build up momentum to change a problem, overcome a difficulty, make progress on our journey of life, only to run into roadblocks, obstacles, and setbacks. It can be easy to give up and become negative and a malcontent. We must remember to breathe, that most hard times are followed by easier, less testing times. Life is a long road. As sojourners we hope for the best, plan for the worst and find our way somewhere in between.

For more posts, reflections and other writings, please visit: http://www.thewannabesaint.com

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)

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Tags: #accidents, #approached, #arrive, #blessings, #Buildup, #catchmyself, #certain, #change, #difficulty, #draining, #easier, #evenedout, #eyes, #feelrushed, #find, #focused, #followed, #Fortunately, #frustrating, #giveup, #go!, #happen, #hardtimes, #hindering, #hopeforthebest, #ignoring, #incidents, #journey, #lifeislong, #Lifeissimilar, #makeprogress, #malcontent, #momentum, #noneed, #notruined, #obstacles, #overcome, #planfortheworse, #plentyoftime, #posts, #problem, #purposefully, #reflections, #remember, #roadblocks, #setbacks, #speeding, #stop, #StopandGo, #takenaway, #timetospare, #trafficlights, #trouble, #voiceofwisdom, #waiting, #www.thewannabesaint.com, @BrianLoging, breathe, Driving, Negative, purpose, sojourners, Travel, Writings

Almost Finished

Jul 6

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Image may contain: tree, sky, cloud, plant, grass, outdoor and nature

Almost Finished –

I started mowing the grass today around 10:00AM. According to the weather report, a front was pushing through our area near 1:00PM and it takes about 3 hours to mow and weed our yard. It was hot and humid when I began, the skies were blue with puffy clouds. It was warm enough to sweat even though I was on a riding mower. I stopped to drink some water when I finished the back and noticed a patch of dark clouds coming my way. I continued mowing and all of a sudden the wind picked up, the temperature dropped and the skies grew dark. I increased my speed and hoped to get finished in time. Fortunately, I did complete the mowing but the bottom fell out of the sky and I couldn’t squeeze the weeding in because of the heavy rain.

As the rain pounded on the tin roof of our porch I reflected on life and all that is done and left undone. We fill our lives with appointments, events, occasions. We think we have time to do everything which needs to be done. The sun shines on us, the blue skies and the beauty of being alive gives us the illusion that time is on our side. Then a storm of disappointment, disillusion, danger, and death reminds us that time is limited and we can’t take even a moment for granted.

#BenjaminFranklin said; “Be careful with every moment. For these are what life is made.”

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Tags: #according, #AlmostFinished, #appointments, #beautyofbeingalive, #Becareful, #benjaminfranklin, #blessings, #blueskies, #complete, #continued, #danger, #death, #disappointment, #disillusion, #done, #everymoment, #fillourlives, #finish, #finished, #Fortunately, #granted, #hoped, #illusion, #increased, #leftundone, #life, #lifeismade, #needstobedone, #noticed, #occasions, #pounded, #reflected, #reminds, #skiesgrewdark, #squeeze, #started, #stopped, #sunshines, #thewannabesaint.com, #think, #time, #timeislimited, #timeisonourside, #todoeverything, #way, #wehavetime, @BrianLoging, Events, moment

Where You Step

Mar 23

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Image result for cell phone watching

Where You Step –

Earlier this week I got up off the couch to walk from the living room to the bathroom. As I did my phone chimed with an email alert. I picked it up and continued walking while reading and scrolling through the message. Unfortunately, I did not see the dog who for some reason had decided he was going to sleep on one of the bathroom mats. I didn’t hurt him but did trip myself. Fortunately, I did catch myself. I had an immediate sense of shame as I help others to be focused, aware, mindful of where they step on the path of life and here I am stumbling over the pooch in my house. Sigh.

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote “Be careful when you step outside your door Frodo. You never know where your feet will lead you.” This goes for inside your house as well.

Where we look is where we end up. Our lives are often the sum of our choices and where we choose to fix our gaze. My gaze that day wasn’t on where I was headed but on a small screen with a message that could’ve waited a few minutes. Too many times we allow the illusion of urgency leads us to lack awareness and a place of unbalance.

Let’s watch our steps or there’s no telling where we’ll end up going.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Tags: #alert, #allow, #aware, #awareness, #bathroom, #Becareful, #blessings, #catch, #chimed, #choices, #Choose, #continued, #decided, #door, #earlier, #email, #endup, #Feet, #fix, #focused, #Fortunately, #gaze, #going, #headed, #help, #house, #illusion, #immediate, #inside, #know, #lack, #leads, #life, #look, #Message, #mindful, #minutes, #never, #often, #outside, #path, #phone, #picked, #pooch, #reading, #reason, #scrolling, #see, #sense, #Sigh. #JRRTolkien, #sleep, #step, #stumbling, #sum, #telling, #thewannabesaint.com, #trip, #unbalance, #unfortunately, #urgency, #waited, #walk, #walking, #watch, #WhereYouStep, @BrianLoging, Lead, shame

Beneath

Mar 8

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Image result for fire ants rotted wood

Beneath –

Today I was tearing down an old wooden, raised flowerbed that was built many years ago. It was mostly rotten and needed to be removed. I was on my hands and knees prying apart a corner and noticed the wood seemed to be moving. Looking closer I realized there was an ant bed behind the wood. If you know anything about ants it is that they’ve noticed you before you notice them. This was true. I looked and they were on the sleeves of my shirt and hands. Fortunately, I was stung only one time. I quickly stepped back and brushed myself off. It was amazing to watch how quickly they went on the defense when under attack. There was no discussion, no plan, just instinct and getting rid of the intruder.

I know people this way. They are quick to attack, slow to find out what’s happening. If they even perceive that someone is going to be a threat they become defensive and hostile. Some people attack themselves. They are more critical of their life than any critic would ever be. Others’ aggressive style protects themselves from getting hurt.

Wisdom teaches us that this is not the way to live with ourselves or others. We are to be patient, kind, grace-filled, faithful, hopeful, and loving with everyone, including us.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannbesaint.com

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Tags: ##protect, #aggressive, #amazing, #anything, #attack, #before, #behind, #beneath, #blessings, #built, #closer, #critic, #critical, #defense, #defensive, #discussion, #down, #enemy, #everyone, #faithful, #find, #Fortunately, #getting, #grace-filled, #hands, #happening, #harshly, #hopeful, #hostile, #hurt, #including, #instinct, #intruder, #kind, #knees, #know, #looked, #looking, #loving, #mostly, #moving, #needed, #notice, #noticed, #patient, #perceive, #plan, #prying, #quick, #quickly, #realized, #removed, #rid, #rotten, #sleeves, #slow, #stepped, #teaches, #tearing, #themselves, #thewannbesaint.com, #true, #Under, #watch, #way, #wisdom, @BrianLoging, People, Style

Problems

Dec 16

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Problems –

There are three kinds of problems; those we can live with, those we can do something about and those we must separate ourselves from.

It’s the last one which gives us the most trouble. Living with something aggravating and, at least in the present moment, is unchangeable can be a challenge. Fortunately, or unfortunately, we can tolerate a lot. This approach can create more hassles if something needs to be changed and we lack the direction, motivation or passion to do something.

Taking control, bending problems to our will, throwing our shoulder into a problem is an attitude we find easy. There’s nothing like grabbing a difficulty by the throat and forcibly doing away with it, changing it to our liking. The risk here is we can make a situation worse if we are too hasty, too stubborn or not wise enough in our decision-making.

Leaving it, for most of us, takes the greatest strength. To be faced with a problem and not change it but change ourselves, how we approach it, takes courage and trust. When we put up with it we are sullen and prone to negative thoughts and spirits. When we take hold of it and wrestle with it, we feel we are in control. When we decide to let go, step back, allow the problem to exist and find contentment at the same time, we have reached a place of genuine spiritual and intellectual maturity.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Mindfulness

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Tags: #aggravating, #allow, #approach, #Attitude, #bending, #blessings, #challenge, #change, #changed, #contentment, #control, #courage, #create, #decide, #decision-making, #difficulty, #direction, #dosomething, #enough, #exist, #faced, #find, #forcibly, #Fortunately, #genuine, #grabbing, #greatest, #hassles, #hasty, #intellectual, #lack, #learn, #least, #Leaving, #letgo, #live, #livewith, #living, #maturity, #motivation, #obstacle, #ourliking, #ourselves, #passion, #place, #present, #problem, #problems, #prone, #reached, #shoulder, #situation, #spirits, #stepback, #strength, #stubborn, #sullen, #takehold, #three, #throat, #throwing, #tolerate, #trouble, #trust, #unchangeable, #unfortunately, #wear, #well, #will, #wise, #worse, #wrestle, moment, Negative, Separate, Spiritual, Thoughts

Essentialist and Wannabesaint

Essentialist, contemplative, author, advocate, old soul

Blog Archives

Stop and Go

Almost Finished

Where You Step

Beneath

Problems

Essentialist and Wannabesaint

Essentialist, contemplative, author, advocate, old soul

Blog Archives

Stop and Go

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Almost Finished

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Where You Step

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Beneath

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Problems

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