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Today's
Quotation:
A Time to Talk
When a friend calls to me from the road
And slows his horse to a meaning walk,
I don't stand still and look around
On all the hills I haven't hoed,
And shout from where I am, What is it?
No, not as there is a time to talk.
I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,
Blade-end up and five feet tall,
And plod: I go up to the stone wall
For a friendly visit.
Robert Frost |
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Today's
Meditation:
This
has always been one of my favorite poems from Robert Frost,
for it shows in a very simple way the power of
prioritizing. We see a man who knows the importance of
visiting with a friend and strengthening a friendship.
The hoeing can wait another half hour or so--the ground will
be waiting patiently for him to get back--but his friend
will soon be passing and this opportunity to strengthen
their ties of friendship will be gone if he doesn't take
advantage of it. I
know from experience the difficulty of being the kind of
person who will always make time for friends in a world of
people who put more importance on work and tasks than they
do on "meaningless" meetings with friends.
As we run from this task to that one, as we focus on work
and sports and entertainment instead of fellow human beings,
we become more fragmented, as a culture and as
individuals. They have no time to talk, no time to
connect, no time to relax and enjoy another person's
company, and to make the other person richer by sharing
something of themselves. I
have to say that I found that people in other cultures still
are willing to take this time--sometimes to extremes--and in
those cultures it's easier to feel a sense of community, and
there tends to be much less isolation and loneliness.
But no cultures are perfect, of course, and no matter where
we live, the most important thing that we can do is make the
decision for ourselves--do I continue hoeing because I've
decided this task is the most important thing right now, or
do I go and spend some time with a fellow human being? |
