Maybe We Should Take the Autopilot Off

Here's the thing.

I wish I was schedule-ey. I wish I was more disciplined. 

I'm not good at diets. I'm not good at sticking to exercise routines. My house is frequently in disorder. 

At this point, I could go ahead and blame it on my personality. So, I think I'll do just that!

I'm an "artist" type.. Which is code for "I'm all feely, emotional, crazy, creative, and messy". I like to do a lot, explore a lot, try a lot, and go non-stop, which can leave me frazzled, disorganized, and drained. Just trying to make it through the day.

But, alas!

Such is the life for a creative type like myself.

Each personality type has different pros, cons, flaws, perks, benefits, strengths, weaknesses, etc.

I frequently feel like my life is on auto pilot. I wake up, coast through breakfast, coast through getting my child up, soar through the morning routine, and it's off to work. There I fly through the day, glide home, coast through my evening routine, and land at bedtime. But lately, I've felt like somewhere in all of this comfortable, easy, chilled out coasting, I'm missing things. 

My mom made a good point yesterday as we talked about this. 

We've all heard the expression that life is like a garden. Well, lets say I planted a garden. I took a whole Saturday, wasted it with working, and tilling, and planting, and watering, and fence-post-putting, and such. I sat back and marveled at the beauty of my botany beginnings. Then I went inside and took a six hour nap. Ha.

For the next few days, all I would do when I saw my garden was smile and walk past it. 

Then for the next few weeks, I would just gaze at it as I walked by. Thinking how proud I was that I actually planted something in the ground.

When I came back in a month's time, expecting to pick flowers, or harvest veggies, I would sadly only be in for a dirt plot of disappointment. 

You see, a garden, just like a life, requires work. It's not for the faint of heart, or the easily tired, or those who just want to lay back and relax.

If you want your life to produce a harvest of blessings and rewards, ex: a well mannered and God fearing child, a marriage that is blissful, a career, or a dream come true- you have to make lots of little choices each day. These choices require you to take off the auto pilot and step in to the messy, work-filled saga that is life. 

If I could say one thing that I really want to see happen in my life, it's that I need to start living more intentionally. Setting standards. Putting things on a schedule. Implementing strategies, and pursuing goals. It is so much easier to just coast through each day, trying to live as work and stress free as possible. But I'm willing to bet that it will only feel good for so long. And that it's possible, that if we live our lives like this, we may look around and find a whole lot of weeds.

"Despite their desires, the lazy will come to ruin,

for their hands refuse to work."

Proverbs 21:25

Ouch! Excuse me while I go clean my house now.

Just thinking...