Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The Shallow End or the Deep End?

As a young child, the question was simple to answer. I wanted to be in the shallow end of the pool because I didn't know how to swim. Somewhere around the age of 8, I caught on to swimming, floating, treading water, and assorted other water related activities. Again the question was simple to answer because it was more fun and more challenging in the deep end of the pool.

Most of us are not trying to decide about whether to go swimming today (in Texas the air temp is to be about 80 but the water temp is still too cool for most of us). But I do wonder today if we are thinking in the shallow end or in the deep end. I wonder if we are reading in the shallows or in the depths. I wonder if we are living on the surface or plunging into the regions of hard work and diffult choices.

Does your mind drift to the dwindling 401 (k) that you were counting on for early retirement so you could pursue your favorite hobby or spend extra time with the grandchildren? Or instead is there a focus upon those who will spend today, this week, and their final days in the process and pain of starvation?

Is my biggest thought today about a receeding hairline or about the global millions who are infected with AIDS? Am I already thinking about where I will eat lunch (currently 10:05 AM) or is there some thought about where my friends and neighbors and the people in the office next door will spend eternity? Were the comics my most thought-provoking read of the day or was there something I read that will stimulate my actions in some aspect of making the world a better place?

It is pretty easy for me to confess that some days the shallow end of the thought pool puts this underworked brain in a very comfortable and relaxed position. But occasionally (tho' not often enough) I was to go to the deep end, think and read about that which is most important, and in someway make a dffierence in this world. My best thought today - I want to go to the deep end far more frequently until it becomes the norm of my life. So, what are you thinking about today?

1 comment:

The Well Today with Jody Hinkle said...

Good meat to chew on. It's like the song "Sea of Faces" from Kuless, we walk around day after day seeing all the faces, do we wonder about their eternal "condition". Sadly, I do after the fact. I too am convicted to get dive into the deep end.

Blessing Dr. L.

Jody Hinkle