230609 Slow Down

We live in a fast paced world these days.

Joyce and I were busy working all of our life.
In 1989 we bought the farm. The long time dream I had finally came true. The place was a mess, but it was all mine. Everything outside was overgrown. The pasture was loaded with thorn trees. The interior of the house was in need of remodeling and finish work. Those were daunting tasks awaiting our attention. Joyce and I worked like slaves to clear the overgrowth outside and finish the interior of the house. We also wanted to clear a space for a garden. All of those tasks had to be done outside of working hours. We both had 40 hour work weeks, a lot of times my job in town required overtime, making for a 48 hour week. There was also mowing to be done through the summer. All I had was a lawn tractor at first and that was no match for the job at hand, so I bought a real tractor with a brush hog. Even with that my mowing spanned days at a time. If that wasn’t enough, we acquired some calves to raise and later some sheep and of course at one point 64 chickens. All those creatures required feed, watering and immunizations, more so in the winter time. We did have some help from our daughter Annie on weekends when she wasn’t working her job in town.

We had the farm for 27 years; we were barely 40 years old when we began and 67 when we sold the place.
In all that time, we rarely sat on the porch enough to just relax and enjoy what we had. There were always more chores to be done.

Yesterday I was out on my daily half mile walk. I strolled along the same trek as I do every day. I slowed my usual pace and began to notice all the beauty around me. I was taking note of the magnificent trees and listening to the sweet melodies of the song birds. Suddenly everything was all new and magical to me.

We all live in a fast paced world these days; we rarely take time to relax and enjoy what we have. Now that I live alone and have time to do whatever I want, I am making a slow transition into a different man. My attitude is better and I am focusing on enjoying my life, taking it slow and easy, accepting whatever comes my way. This is a new concept for me, one that I have never experienced before. Mistakes will be made; I’ll deal with them when they happen. Why not take a moment several times during your busy day to sit back and be thankful for all you have?