And the livin' is easy ..."
This week the temperature hit the 90s (32 to 35 deg C). While so many complain about the heat, I just love it!
The heat forces us to live differently. We have to slow down. We have to seek out the shade, and drinks some cool beverages. We have to take it easy.
The heat offers us the opportunity to get out of the run-around, over-committed lives we lead. It offers us the opportunity to just sit there and take in the surroundings. We can quiet our busy minds and rest our souls. A good day in the 90s and the lyrics "and the livin' is easy" just clicked with me.
Having the week off with no travel plans, I left the air-conditioning inside and just sat out in the shade of the patio each day. Just to enjoy the warmth and take in the surroundings, maybe do a little light reading. Talking to my friend Gregg the other day, he echoed these thoughts, too. Living without air-conditioning, he also finds he has to slow down in the heat. He recommended just leaving all technology behind in the house, and just taking in the environment around me.
Then our pastor this morning, preaching on Luke 10 about sending out the 72 disciples in pairs, made not of how they were to travel simply, without excess baggage. In the same we, he challenged us and himself to strip ourselves of the excess baggage of life, be it possessions, the ever-present technology (phones, tablets, laptops, always "con-nected" and always making demands of our attention), or the tyranny of so many demands and deadlines that often leave us with life living us instead of us living life. (The last item describes my typical day at work, with multiple projects to manage, each with its own schedule, deadlines, and little "fire drills" that come up.)
Luckily, I have one more week before I return to work. Another 7 days of opportunities to take the opportunity of summer, when the livin' is easy.
Happy summer!
