Monday, November 19, 2018

When Distractions Aren't

     The dog in the animated feature, Up, irritates me. He’s constantly being distracted by squirrels.  Yet, yesterday I found myself distracted by what my family now calls “squirrel moments.”
     I asked my wife if she’d seen a magazine I wanted to reference for my next newspaper column. 
    “No,” she smiled.  “But here’s your new Triple-A Card.  Do you have your wallet?”
      I dutifully found my billfold and inserted the card, taking the old card over to the shredder.  But the shredder wouldn’t work because the bin was full.  So, I dumped the shredded paper onto the compost pile.  Returning to the house, I saw the dehumidifier bucket was also full.  So, I dropped the empty shredder bin, pulled out the dehumidifier bucket and emptied it in the kitchen sink, only to find the sink, too, was full of dishes.  So, I did the dishes, returned the dehumidifier bucket, returned the shredder bin, shredded my old card, and resumed looking for my magazine so I could resume work on my article. 
      These interruptions so frustrated me that I just started writing about this fiasco. Initially, I thought this article would be about the importance of staying focused.  Such a theme would certainly make the leadership gurus happy.
       Yet, I finally risked sharing these boring details in order to say this: we should not be so focused on narrow goals that we forget to be present in the moment.  I cannot presume on my wife’s willingness to empty all the bins because I fancy myself too busy to be bothered by my household. 
     Life always interrupts, and if we’re not going to resent most of life, we will have to learn to value what is in front of us.  Jesus once stopped for a sick woman who was among those pressing up against him, preventing him from promptly responding to an emergency call.  He was already late to save the dying child of a synagogue ruler.  (Luke 8:45-50)  Yet, this woman’s intervening need was somehow more than a distraction.  Our most important work is often done when we thought we were busy doing something else.