Because it's easier

A week or so ago, I was lamenting the fact that I promised my wonderful, inspiring, motivating and exceptionally faithful running buddy an evening jog.  I asked Rich why it is that I didn't want to run.  I love to run. I enjoy the actual act of running. Running makes me feel good and gives me energy for an entire day afterward.  Running is good for my body and great for my soul. So, why was it that I wanted to just stay home, curl up under a blanket, eat a big bowl of fattening ice cream, and vegg in front of the boob tube? Why didn't I have the WANT to run? And, accurately so - dear husband replied with the simple answer: "Because it's easier to just not go."

Yesterday, I was invited in on an email conversation between a mentor and his buddy, whereby politics and unemployment, health care and "the spirit" were all discussed and debated upon.  My mentor, who is a strong conservative person had the general theme in his writing that "it's just easier..." to live life the same way as his liberal buddy with whom this conversation was happening.  While they discussed unemployment rates and free health care for all, I had to agree that yes, "it is just easier" to be taken care of than to find some way to provide for ourselves.

This morning, as I was preparing for church - I was wondering what happened to my WILL to serve in the church's children's ministry.  I work with children for a living. I consider myself a quality teacher. I love serving the Lord. The children's ministry needs me and wants me. I'm welcomed there by the staff, the parishioners, and (most of all) by the children. I enjoy my time teaching Sunday school every time I do it. I never regret making the choice to volunteer with the kiddos.  But, still - each week, I find myself passing up the volunteer schedule and going to church services instead.  Why? Because "it's just easier" for me to let my kiddos enjoy their sunday school thing while I get to be a grown-up and go off to church services without them.


Tonight as I sit here and type, I know that "it would just be much easier" for me to ignore this annoying theme that keeps running laps in my head and go to bed early, getting a full night's rest than it is to hammer these thoughts out on a blog and put myself out there for criticism or feedback.

This idea of life being easy has been occupying my thoughts and entering into a lot of the conversations I've been having with folks lately. And I have come to a definite conclusion about it all.  You see, it's not that I want life to be hard. I see no merit in doing things the hard way. I think that if I came to two roads diverged in a wood, that I would not be able to take the one less traveled.  On the contrary, I tend to take the roads that have the most wear and tear on them, because I see no need to re-invent the wheel when it comes to anything. I admit that, right here - right now.  That's just part of who I am.

But, at the same time -- I see no merit in losing touch with the spirit within me.  The spirit within me is this part of me that gracefully and kindly embodies my emotions.  The physical stuff is my body. The emotional and mental stuff is my spirit.  Without my spirit, I lose touch of the strive, or the will and desire to achieve happiness and fulfillment. I am pretty sure that I deserve to have a good healthy spirit about me.

The way I see, it is up to me to take good care of my spirit, just as it is up to me to take good care of my body, just as it is up to me to take good care of my money and my stuff. 

And, maybe you can agree that taking care of our bodies is not always so easy. "It's just so easy" to eat the junk, plop on the couch, sleep, and eat the junk again.  But, if we live like that - we not only start to feel unattractive, but we lose control over what is happening to our bodies. The mind confuses the WANT with the NEED. Our blood pressure gets high, blood sugar gets confused, hearts get clogged, and sometimes we die as a result of our choices to neglect the body.  And, sometimes our bodies just take on a mind of it's own and leave us no choice but to battle disease or illness within. I would argue that it is at these times that it is most important to nurture the spirit within.

Likewise, it's not so easy to take care of our money (and also our stuff).  "It's just so easy" to spend our hard earned money on STUFF instead of saving it or (better yet) giving it away.  Again, our WANT gets mixed up with our NEED.  We lose control over our finances and go broke, file for bankruptcy and sometimes get foreclosed on. 

Taking control of what we actually have control over (like our spirit and our bodies) is a responsibility and a gift.  Choosing to "suck it up" and take the not-so-easy approach to things can be rewarding and life-giving. It can affect your whole spirit and the way you live. It begins to change the way you think and the way you approach problems and find solutions. It gives you confidence and self-esteem and pride. It reminds you of some of the unique things about you that make you worthy of eternal salvation.  It's important... and that is an understatement.

So, while I still find myself complaining and lamenting over the fact that something may be a bit too hard - that something might require too much of a commitment or too much energy or too much risk...  I also know what kind of benefits I can harvest from so much hard work.  It's not just about good ol' fashioned hard work. It's much more personal than that. It's about saving my spirit.