Month: July 2020

One morning last week I got up early and weeded the flower bed. Then I got the weedeater out and trimmed the alley. It was early, but I was still sweating so much. But it made me feel good. This is my land. It’s my flower garden with herbs that smell so good and are so great to cook with. And during that time I wasn’t faced with my normal work, which allowed for some much needed space.

Last Friday night I didn’t sleep well. It had been a long week, and I thought I would sleep so well. Instead, I woke up at 2am and never went back to sleep. So by the time Saturday afternoon rolled around I was pretty tired. So I decided to move both vehicles into our back yard where there’s more shade, and then for two hours while listening go some good music, I cleaned them out, vacuumed them, and washed them. Again, much sweat. But it felt good to to work hard and to know that I was taking care of the things that I have.

I wouldn’t normally think that work like this fills my tank, but it truly did.

It has been three months since I wrote that post on Facebook. For the next week or so after writing that I sought to do something each day that made me happy. I knew that things were weird because of the pandemic, and that was going to have an impact on me. Remember what a scary chore it was to get groceries those first few weeks!

As helpful as those inputs were then, I’ve found that they’re even more important when the pace picks back up. As I mentioned a few days ago, I’m busier with work than I have been in a long time. And as great as that is, I haven’t been taking care of myself very well, and I find myself a bit burned out. I’m reminded that when things get hectic, it’s even more important that I say yes to the right things. It’s so important that I make time to do the things that truly fill my tank.

As I write this I’m on a 24 hour personal retreat. I began doing quarterly retreats years ago. They have become part of my routine, but I haven’t done one in awhile. It’s something I’ve missed. A retreat for me is about quiet and solitude. It’s a time that I go back to my journals and practice the discipline of reflection. It’s a time that I normally do some long-range dreaming and planning. And in the case of this retreat, it’s a time that I wanted to do some writing.

A few years ago I went on a bike ride, and I didn’t bother to take the time to check the air pressure on my tires. After all, they looked fine to me. If you’ve ever made this mistake, you know that my ride was way more work than it should have been. I learned that day that properly filled tires make for a fun ride.

I’ve learned through the years that my work can be rooted in rest or it can be rooted in striving. The results at first may be hard to distinguish, but over time it becomes clear. And much of it is determined by the current state of my soul. There are intentional things I can do that restore my soul just as there are things I can do that can deplete my soul. When my soul is depleted, it’s kind of like riding a bike with under-inflated tires. On the surface things look ok, but inside they’re not. And the problem is that you don’t know there is a problem until later. It wasn’t until I was on the last leg of my bike ride that I realized I was working way harder than I should have. It dawned on me then that I should have checked the tire pressure. That last leg was no fun to ride, but you better believe that every time since I’ve checked those tires.

So now I’m in the place where the pace is hectic. I’m juggling a lot of clients, we’re trying to make decisions as a family what school is going to look like, and Mandy is nervous about going back to the classroom. The pandemic and quarantine have impacted me just like they’ve impacted everyone else. In the midst of all of this, how will I care for my soul? What intentional practices will I do that all me to not simply survive but thrive during this time? These are key questions for a time such as this one.

About a week into quarantine I wrote a post on Facebook about the power of inputs. Here’s that post.

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about inputs. In normal life we do a lot of outputting. We struggle with inputs. When I say inputs I’m referring to putting things in that refuel you. It’s beauty and knowledge; it’s things that remind you to slow down and breathe deeply; it’s things that cause your passions to stir.

When we are in our normal running and gunning, it seems that we are often running on fumes, and the inputs we do allow ourselves often don’t really fill our tanks. Another way of saying that is that we choose the wrong inputs.

So now we find ourselves in a place where, for perhaps the first time in our lives, we are no longer running and gunning. We have more time on our hands than normal, which means that we have more time for inputs than normal. That is good, but it’s still important to gauge what inputs actually do the job.

When so much of the news is producing in us anxiety more than anything else, is it a healthy input? If so, would a good discipline be to only read the news once or twice a day? This applies to sites like the NY Times, Daily Memphian, or CNN, but also to Facebook or Twitter.

How about tv and movies? It’s a great opportunity to catch up on some shows (our family is watching the Marvel movies), but at what point does it no longer fill our tanks and instead produce in us something negative?

These are the two areas I’ve been thinking the most about. Maybe there are other areas that for you deserve the questions.

Once I’m asking those questions, I need to ask the next set of questions…What inputs do fill my tank, fight anxiety, and cause true rest?

Here are some things that have been helpful to me…

Reading a novel
Researching a new topic
Reading Scripture
Reading a book on a topic that relates to your field of work
Reading a magazine
Cooking a new recipe
Praying/meditating
Taking a walk while listening to music
Taking a walk while listening to a podcast (not news or politics-related)
Taking a walk while not listening to anything (what a concept!)
Speaking of music, finding a new artist to listen to
Taking a virtual tour of a museum (lots of museums throughout the world are offering these)
Taking a nap
Going for a hike
Going for a bike ride
Doing yoga
Gardening
Catching up with an old friend via phone or FaceTime
Writing in a journal
Brainstorming with others ways to help those who are struggling
Reading through your old journals (this is one of my favorite activities)

In summary, inputs are good, and it’s a positive thing that in the days, weeks, and perhaps months ahead of us, we have more time for inputs than normal. The tricky thing is that not all inputs produce in us what we’re hoping for and what we truly need. So the great need for us is to choose wisely what inputs we’re taking in.

Whew, the last few weeks have been a whirlwind. It was the middle of March when our quarantine began. Life for me suddenly slowed down. And it stayed at this lovely new pace for close to three months. Towards the end of that time I decided that I wanted to begin writing again (see previous post). So a friend helped me get things set up, and I was off and running. Or so I thought.

Since then, things have been hectic. I have never been as busy as I am right now with real estate. Who knew it would take a pandemic to get to that point. But as great as the business has been, I also recognize that I haven’t been this close to burnout in quite awhile. And when I’ve gotten to this place before, I take it serious. I’m no good to anyone when I’m burned out.

Over the next few posts I’m going to share some things I’ve been learning about health and pace and happiness.

I started my first blog almost 16 years ago. There was a time during those years that I wrote a lot. But over the past decade that slowed. Much of that was due to the fact everything else in my life was moving faster: young kids, pastoring a church, and starting a business. My writing during those years came primarily through writing sermons.

Now that I’m no longer doing much of that, I’ve begun to miss writing, and so I’ve decided to come back to my blog. My plan is to write on topics that interest me. That means I’ll be writing about spirituality, real estate, money, music, cooking, travel, and in general the things I find interesting.