I'm finding out that life is for the living. But you probably already knew that.

I've been having a thought-process lately that's been overwhelming, challenging and intriguing: that I need to be more intentional in the way I live life. Many times, I find myself reacting to what's going on. When I'm "proactive", it's really just to get things out of the way so they won't bother me later - like fixing the kids' lunches the night before, or doing the dishes because I can't fit another glass in the sink. But I find that I'm just existing, not really living. The normal cycle - stop me if I'm wrong - goes something like this:

• wake up around 6am
  
• shower and dress
  
• fix kids' breakfast, then lunches while they're eating
  
• drive them to school, then do my commute to work
  
• work 'til lunch, grab a bite, then work 'til 5:15
  
• evening commute
  
• dinner/dishes/kids' baths/bedtime
  
• flip channels, watch news, go to bed by 11:30pm
  
• lather, rinse, repeat

In the middle of that, there's interaction with my wife in the mornings and evening, but really, that's my life. Weekends usually take the "work" out of that loop, but church and other activities quickly fill the void from the outside.

I could do a people study, looking at how this plays out in just about everyone I know. But I've got to focus on me for this to be real. I want to be more intentional, more playful, more risky in taking life seriously and living it effectively. That's what resonates within my heart right now - as I sit on my fanny in front of this laptop, hyping up my day that'll be spent right here getting work done. There's not much to my life - but instead of that being an excuse to just exist, I need to allow it to be a wake-up call for attempting more, for engaging better, for living right. Right?

I added the unkymoods icon to my blog as a reminder: Let it be honest, and let it be a challenge, living up to the "mood" and attitude that I want really defining my life. So as I sit here and work for "da man", I really want to be "spunky" (mood for today) and be a person who's getting stuff done and enjoying it while it's being done. I want to learn, what Oswald Chamber's calls in today's devotional, "the secret of the burning heart".

Later, a nap.
- posted by Rick @ 09:13