Quality of Life

Life has many joys contained within it.  Among them – birth of a child, wedding day, career development and promotions, new home, new car, graduation from college, grad school, and many more hallmarks of a life growing in reach and promise.

There are other joys as well. These are often more difficult to catalog but some would include – the enticement of nature in the woods and forests, hiking mountains and back country locales, camping, traveling, smelling fresh air, drinking clean, clear water, growing one’s own food and relishing in its abundant flavors and textures and colors, hearing music that talks with the inner brain and forms more complex thoughts, encountering art in public places, and smells and touches and all the other senses. In rich abandon we can experience life.

But we must be attuned to it to receive it.

To smell the air, to feel the breeze, the soft humidity of an October afternoon – one must be free of distractions that hide the simple pleasures.

Hot and thirsty in a summer’s afternoon? The freshly made lemonade iced to perfection is a special treat! Perhaps at no other time do we truly experience it fully!? The same goes for a perfectly cooked steak or other treat when anticipated and the appetite properly focused. Or the aroma of freshly baked bread. Or an apple pie just about ready in the oven?  Remember those aromas? Recall your reactions then? The taste buds aroused and saliva running? Oh the expectation and excitement!

These are elements of a quality of life. These are the things that bring a simple joy and appreciation to our consciousness.

Living in a busy, noisy urban area we are often in need of a vacation that takes us away from the dirty air, the noisy surroundings, the frustrating traffic tie-ups, the tension of crammed schedules and calendars. And once on vacation in a quiet place, we are more aware of the sunrises and sunsets, the cleaner air, the appreciation of a passing thunderstorm, clean fresh water and tranquil settings of farm, field and forest.

These qualities of life we have with us most of the time. We just don’t notice them because our days are busy. We are distracted. By problems, dramas, financial pressures, family needs and so much more.

Distracted. The good often suffocated by more complex things dominating our lives.

Wealth can provide some of the simple qualities of life, but most of the time getting and maintaining the wealth distracts us from the things we want and need most.  Poverty and provide a simpler life that allows their enjoyment, their notice. But poverty also brings pressures that distract – unemployment, unpaid bills, insufficient income, poor health and housing and no way of repairing same.

For those who have the time and leisure, there is ability to enjoy the common, ordinary qualities of life others miss out on. 

‘Take time to smell the roses,’ we are advised from time to time. But do we?

In churches throughout the nation we are advised to take time for daily reflection and meditation. To some folks that is a time for prayer; for most it is a time to think about the day, the quiet moments, and the chance to relax in short lived peace.

We are well advised to also stop from time to time to smell the aromas surrounding us. Some will be pleasant, others not. But those smells are witness to the life going on around us.

The same for breathing in fresh air deeply, and slowly exhaling it. Deep breaths taken throughout the day are calming and energizing.  

Savoring a glass of fresh water, or a light meal and tasting the subtle flavors. A salad comes to life unexpectedly! A simple bowl of soup is savory and warming and life-giving. Listening to music during a stressful day, or on the commute home, or while walking or jogging. Music. The challenge of hearing order and harmonies in a challenging day.

These are simple things. These are simple joys of life.  To hear them, feel them, taste them – we must be ready for them. We have to be attuned to their being. We must be disciplined to find the time to experience them.

This does not take money. Or poverty. It takes being.

Be fully present in this day!

September 19, 2014