A couple weeks ago I shared thoughts about the intense, tough news that is filling our air waves—and our responsibility to balance it with the good news. I’m still thinking about that.
I’m reminded of a chapter I wrote in This is Livin’: Learning to Move from Messy Moments to Happy Places. The memory of sitting on a plane, listening to and writing about the overwhelming blah blah blah behind me is still fresh on my mind. And the Aha! lesson it left me with is still so relevant today.
Since I can’t stop thinking about it, I’m sharing a slightly edited version with you here! (If you have that book, it’s on page 93.)
May you find encouragement in the good news while we share that hope with those around us!
And … Subtract and then add. (See below!)
❤️
I had concluded that the gentleman in seat 6F behind me was never going to stop talking.
His one-way conversation with the young man buckled in next to him (and everyone else within the vicinity of Row 6), covered an interesting blend of topics: the weather, the conference he was going to attend, his frustrations with his current work assignment, his political perspectives, and a whole lot more.
It felt as if his voice was perched on the top of my head. No breaths. An intense, sharp tone and a steady stream of words tapping my brain like a woodpecker. RELENTLESS. And we were only at the point in our flight where the flight attendant was reminding us that our seat cushions could be used as flotation devices. (However, since we were flying from Kansas City to Dallas, I’m not sure which large body of water we’d be diving into.)
And then, a few moments of sweet respite as his coffee was delivered.
His unyielding wordiness reminded me of how much of my day is spent taking in … stuff. Some of the stuff is good. Helpful information. Healthy conversations. Reminders. Heart encouragements. Learnings.
And then there’s the blah blah blah stuff—irrelevant noise. Mindless TV. Phone conversations and emails and social media reads that I get lost in. Sensationalistic news. Stuff that keeps me from what matters most.
Later in the flight as the flight attendant picked up our empty pretzel packages and plastic cups of melted ice cubes, I read this passage on my Kindle, written by contemplative writer Ed Cyzewski in Pray Write Grow: Cultivating Prayer and Writing Together:
“… every addition to our life requires a subtraction. If you’re trying to add something to your life without subtracting something else, there’s a good chance the stuff that’s already there will win…Sometimes we have very good things in our lives that have taken up an unhealthy amount of space. However you want to classify these things, we need to subtract the things that make it difficult to add prayer and writing to our lives.”
Hmmm … I considered what I could add and what I could subtract. More life-enriching activities. Less blah. Reading inspiring books instead of Facebook news highlights. Taking a wake-me-up walk outside instead of scrolling on my phone.
You may not be looking for time to write, but I bet there’s something in your heart you wish you could find time for. Make it happen! Subtract something that isn’t important or is a time waster. Do the thing that matters more!
Well, Mr. Man of Too Much Blah continued his one-way conversation in the clouds for 90 minutes. I took care of the brain tapping with a couple of Advil® and created a short list of exchanges in my notebook. (In case you’re wondering, we didn’t need to use our seat cushions for anything other than providing comfort to our bottoms.)
So.
What are you going to subtract? What will you add in its place?
What really matters?
Subtract. Then add.
“Keep my eyes from gazing upon worthless things, and give me true life according to Your plans.” (Psalm 119:37 The Voice)
This page contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase a book through these links, your cost will be the same, but I may receive a commission. I only link to books and products I personally love!
