Pondering Success & the Drowned Voice
“I valued accomplishment.”
“I valued being special.”
“I valued results.”
“The driven part didn’t question or examine these values.”
“It took them as real, and believed it was following the carrot “success” [and the road “righteousness”] wholeheartedly. Didn’t everyone believe in success? I never asked, “Success at what cost?””
“A part of me is quiet.”
“It knows about simplicity, about commitment, and the joy of doing what I do well. That part is the artist, the child – it is receptive and has infinite courage.”
“But time and my busyness drowned the quiet voice.”
The above words are from Plain and Simple (page 5) by Sue Bender.
Without this voice – gleaning the purposeful from the bits – procrastination reigns.
Today, I will set aside some time for a walk in my field to listen. Or at least to begin to listen. . .
. . . To listen for God’s values and choices for my life. To procrastinate is to miss His best for me . . . each day.
Entry filed under: Lent, Main, Meditations, Procrastination.
Fruitful Words 
1.
Theresa Lindamood | . at .
That’s a HUGE question…what is success and what if any kinds of success should we seek. Or should we make a distinction between success and excellence or is it all seeking after our own righteousness from our own efforts, placing ourselves in God’s seat or worse yet, above Him?
I think after I turned 40 I started thinking of things more. Life circumstances and some poor choices on my part took me out of the running for worldly success, but God is showing me that I am not a failure. Simplicity…we are hearing about that more and more. Other people are getting tired of the hamster wheel too. They are finding that you can work hard to get every success and still be empty.
Over the last several years I find that God is changing my perspective. Before I thought about this life on earth as a place to achieve something that it was all about doing, being, winning, succeeding, having the best life. Some people have those things without losing perspective but I think what God has been showing me is that our reason for being here is to glorify Him, further His Kingdom, grow in our relationships with Him and that everything else is really secondary to all of that. Simplicity is becoming a blessing because of that changed perspective.
Don’t get me wrong, I still have “what if?” thoughts or wish for a nicer home with more SPACE and sometimes certain people’s reactions make me feel embarrassed because of our humble circumstances. But I find myself becoming more and more content growing in Him, being with my family, teaching my children and it is easier to say NO to things that take me away from the “prime directive.” :o)
I love this series because it is really making me think about a lot of things. Thank you. And sorry about the long comment…stepping off my soapbox now! lol
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2.
susan2009 | . at .
Love the thoughtful comments, Theresa. Maybe a changing perspective happens (in part) as we (I) let myself become transformed by the Word of God. And as I ponder my life’s direction. I know I want to make corrections in my course.
That’s one reason I like to read (google, mags, books, blogs, the Bible) – so that I can get different perspectives and then see how I can incorporate them into my life.
I will be writing more on these topics (simplicity and procrastination), but I need to get past these finals first.
Thanks for entering into the dialogue with me, Theresa. đŸ™‚
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