Getting from Chaos to Contentment

Everyone longs for a quiet moment to ease his or her shattered nerves and regain energy to keep going. Spring is a remarkable time of year giving us renewed hope with a 10-minute walk outside smelling the grass and drinking in the wonder of nature. The smell of spring is its own natural stress reliever. Nature gives us all we need if we only stop to enjoy it. We try to do so much more every day, but end up feeling as if we have done less than we’d hoped. If less is more then perhaps we are numbing ourselves by trying to do more and more thus over-saturating our minds/bodies just to keep pace.

I believe what separates the successful/content people from the chaotic/unhappy ones is the ability to reflect on our actions regularly to distinguish what works well (the keepers) from the crap that drags us down (the trash). My keepers are: (1) family, (2) home/farm/land, (3) self/inner peace & well-being, (4) extended family and friends, (5) then work. The more I stick to the keepers the less time I have to let the trash enter my life. As I mentally organize and maintain order in my life according to these purposes, I recognize how to better help those I love gain the peace and happiness they need to navigate their own land of chaos.

While sorting through my desk recently, I rediscovered a provocative commentary by Leonard Pitts, Jr. of the Miami Herald about Jimmy Carter’s real legacy. Leonard thanked Carter for saving his sanity and was titled Where is the Morality in Bush’s Policy? It recalled that Jesus was a humble, compassionate soul and wondered where our saints are today. Present-day humanitarians, like Jimmy Carter, who preach and live the biblical values of inclusion, service, humility, sacrifice are too busy building houses for poor people to persuade our public officials to make changes to the social service systems in our country (or perhaps our officials don’t care to listen to the message). The article ends with the author pondering if he shouldn’t be helping build those houses too. Funny how the people who are best qualified to lead our country are never, or rarely, the ones picked for the job. Guess Jimmy Carter was truly one of a kind. Jesus would be proud.

Some Keepers to take with you:

1. Your degree of happiness is very closely tied to the quality of the relationships in your life (including your relationship with yourself).
   
2. You owe it to yourself to have a great home life and rich friendships with a wide range of people about whom you care deeply.
   
3. Network extensively and foster good relationships with people of influence in all areas of your life.
   
4. “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity” - Albert Einstein.