Passing along some wisdom gleaned this week <3
I read the best thing on Instagram this week and I am sharing it as a quote here before I tell you my thought for the day:
“If we all only do things we love, the things that spark joy, the things that don’t bring stress, who does the rest?
Who stays after to clean up? Brings dinner to the teachers? Invites the hard kids to play?
Who picks up the teammate whose parents work late? Organizes the charity auction? Works the volunteer concession stand?
Who shovels the walk? Paints the scenery? Or babysits for the sick mom?
No one. That’s who.
There isn’t an army of people who find joy doing undesirable things. There aren’t a bunch of adults with nothing better to do.
There are just good people who are willing to contribute anyway.
You aren’t a “people-pleaser” when you do something that doesn’t excite you because you see a need.
You are part of a community.
When we fixate on what is good for us in the moment, we often miss what is good for us in the long run.
Do we really want to live in neighborhoods where everyone only thinks of themselves?
Do we want our kids growing up in schools where people only show up or care if they get paid to?
Do we want to be part of families who keep score and love minimally?
Do we need to wait for a tragedy before we are willing to pull together to make sure people know they matter?
That way of doing things doesn’t seem to work all that well.
You don’t have to say yes all the time, but you don’t have to say no all the time either.
You don’t have to run yourself ragged, but it’s good to feel a little stretched.
We shouldn’t protect our time and ease at the expense of our humanity.
If everyone does a little, the burden no longer feels quite so heavy for the few.
If you want a village, you have to be a villager.
And being a villager is inconvenient, and hard, and annoying, but it’s also incredibly beautiful.
Because a village shows up for each other in the good times and the bad and allows you to be a part of something bigger than yourself.
It’s what so many are searching for individually, but it’s found in community.
So start small.
Put your name on a sign up sheet.
Volunteer.
Invite.
Stop to chat.
Put away a few chairs.
Reply.
Say yes.
Join a group.
Find a church.
Get to know your neighbor.
Show up.
At a performance, at the funeral, at the game, on the phone, in the text.
In life, in relationships, in communities, the little things really are the big things.”
Brooke Romney from @brookeromneywrites on Instagram
This spoke so eloquently to my heart.
I am very much a homebody and seeker of quiet places where I can think or do my creative projects. Interruptions or adjustments to the plans I have made up in my head can jar me and people who love and know me well can attest that my response is usually a glazed or cranky facial expression as I pull myself away from what I was doing.
If I were, as the author above suggests, to follow my heart and only do that which pleases me, I would not be a very compassionate person.
I would miss running a van of kids around on windy and rainy nights making sure they arrive safely where they need to be so their parents can attend a sibling’s game.
I would miss the impromptu conversations in the lobby after church where I find out someone needs prayer when all I was thinking about was getting me to the car so we can stop at Aldi on the way home.
If I were to indulge my no-stress inclinations, I would miss the shopper who has a burden for a child on her heart or a parent that no longer remembers who she is.
If I were to hunker down in my chair and knit instead of attend the game of a child we are not even related to, I would miss the chance to show that family they matter to people who don’t even share the same blood.
I definitely have been blessed by the village, and so yes….I want to be a villager who does my part.
If we want to live counter-culture, this writer has provided wise counsel that we can all put to good use.
Have a blessed weekend, friends!
You are dearly loved <3