Recent Reads

Last night I finished Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Let me tell you, this is a book I will read probably at least once a year. Following her theme of change and adapting to change, it would make sense to read the book often because life is ever changing. The book is 50 years old, but it's still relevant and helpful when thinking about issues we face today.

Yesterday I wrote down, in my handy dandy notebook, a couple of things that Lindbergh wrote in Gift from the Sea. Some of her observations of the world are things I often wonder about today. 

Lindbergh wrote:

"The present is passed over in the race for the future; the here is neglected in favor of the there; and the individual is dwarfed by the enormity of the masses."

"America, which has the most glorious present still existing in the world today, hardly stops to enjoy it, in her insatiable appetite for the future."

I could not believe I had found the perfect explanation for some of the things that have been bothering me. The housing collapse, the "unstable" economy, the Gulf oil spill, and countless other issues seem to be telling us "Hey! What's the rush for?" These are things that happen when you skip today for the future! If you are worried about what your child will choose as a profession when they are 2 years old, then you're likely to miss them growing up along the way. Really, what is the rush? If we don't nurture and enjoy what we have now, then who's to say it will be around years down the road to enjoy later? That goes for family, friends, children, the earth, your favorite beach... you get the idea.

Life seems so busy these days. You have Twitter, Facebook, email, iPhones, satellite television, Internet, and countless other means of "keeping in touch". To me these are often devices that keep people from enjoying the here and now and most importantly from enjoying each other. Your children glue themselves to the television; husbands take work calls while at home with their families; people answer emails while driving their cars. When you watch television, people constantly speculate about the future. Stock owners follow their portfolios like it's their job. Why worry about what could happen? Anything could happen, but you might miss that anything if you're too busy wondering what might be. It's a shame that people put so much time into "keeping in touch" via technology; when each second you spend on your phone, or in front of the television, could be spent with a loved one "in the moment" instead! Instead of moving further apart, why don't people try moving closer to each other?

Sometimes it seems so difficult to enjoy the present, when we're constantly bombarded with people telling us it's so important to plan for the future. There are so many things you can't ever plan for, so why stress out over what you think your life should be? Each and every one of us are exactly where we're supposed to be at each moment. Love yourself each day, and love your loved ones each day.

Thank you Anne Morrow Lindbergh for shedding light on some timeless issues! :)