A New Year Theme

A year has come and gone. I'm sure we can all say as we get older they come and go much faster. When we are young all we want is to grow up and when we are grown all we want is to slow down time. Perhaps this is the greatest paradoxes of human existence.

The end of 2011 was a sad time for my family. We lost two relatives in a matter of a week and one was very unexpected. One thing that always comes along with losing a loved one is a reflection of my own life. I ponder if I am living in the moment and cherishing my time here.

I'm not big on New Years resolutions, I like the idea of choosing a theme that I can carry through the year. A couple of years ago that theme was "simplify". That year we cleared out a lot of clutter in our home and got rid of cable television.

This year I have decided my theme is "slow down". I want to savor moments. I want to evaluate things that seem so important at the time and really think about it. Is this something that is going to matter 10 years from now or is there a better opportunity to make a memory with my child?

My mom recently passed my great-grandfathers Bible along to me. In it was some wonderful poetry and scripture that my great-grandmother had written. I thought this poem was so appropriate to my theme for this new year.

Slow me down, Lord, ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace with the vision of the eternal reach of time. Give me, amidst the confusion of my day, the calmness of the everlasting hills. Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory. Teach me the art of taking minute vacations, of slowing down to look at a flower to chat with a friend, to pat a dog, to read a few lines from a good book. Let me look upward into the branches of the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well. Slow me down, Lord, an inspire me to send my roots deep into the solid of life's enduring values...

Happy New Year, friends.