Posts Tagged ‘journal’

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. ~Henry David Thoreau

I love this quote! I used this quote recently during a talk I gave on living a simplified life. It sparked the best conversation among the participants and really got me thinking on a number of issues. But I would like to focus on one point in particular…the use of the word deliberate.

Living deliberately …what a concept! How many of us live deliberately each day? It is so easy to let the hustle and bustle and stress of our lives get in the way of living deliberately. If you stop for a moment and think about yesterday does anything pop into your mind as being significant? If you answered no…then you probably didn’t live very deliberately yesterday.

When we go about our days with little reflection, awareness, as if we were just going through the motion we are missing out on the wonder and beauty of our lives.

For me living deliberately means that when I step outside, I take a deep breath and let the air fill my lungs and it reminds me how grateful I am to be alive. When I look at the birds on the feeder or the deer roaming in my back yard I am reminded of how God has designed our world and the beauty he made for our enjoyment and care. When I am sitting with my friend listening to her troubles or her triumphs I am reminded that I am connected to this other human being in a way that reminds me of my obligation to be good, kind and loving towards her.

We all know that life isn’t about the destination but about the journey. So if we know this to be true then why do we insist upon living our lives in a state of rush unable to remember what happened yesterday or an hour ago? One way that we can improve our lives and starting living deliberately is to keep a journal. Journaling is a great way to reflect on what has happened during the day and to be reminded to enjoy each moment, take stock of what we have to be grateful for and to later to reminisce and share these experiences with generations to come.

Today I lived deliberately…did you?