Simplifying life is hard, but I'm starting to discover that it is worth-while. I have always avoided simplicity because I found no reason to decline a good opportunity, but recently I have found a greater good in being able to take life at a more relaxed pace and appreciate things that would have gone undetected had I not given myself space. Here are a few things that have made me realize that simplicity is a new theme in my life:
----> I'm trying really hard to keep Sunday as a sabbath. In that sense, I don't practice my flute and I try to get all my homework done before-hand or save it until Monday morning. I started just about a month ago, and at this point I can say that it takes some adjusting but has been good for me. Mostly, I just don't know how to handle un-scheduled time, but I'm learning. It leaves the door open for me to realize what God is trying to do in my life. That is a very broad statement, but I'm not going to try to define what Sundays will be any more than that lest I fall into my planning-obsession again and defeat the purpose!
----> I recently was asked to accompany another student and a professor to Sierra Leone this spring break to help with nutrition research, decided I could only go if it were completely funded, found out that it's quite possible for me to get a grant that would cover the trip, and now have finally decided to turn it down anyways. Despite my love of seeing new places, interest in nutrition and hopes to return to Africa again, this opportunity wasn't sitting right with me. I need the rest that spring break is there for. Exploring the world is great and I want to do more of it, but I can't go when it's shoved into the only two weeks I have to breathe between Lawrence terms. It was liberating to realize that I am capable of turning down exciting opportunities when I need to.
----> After a year of working as a student researcher in the biology lab of one of my favorite professors, I did what I needed to do but have been putting off: I quit. Reasons why I needed to make this decision: I changed my college major and life goals so that neither of them has much to do with biology anymore, I have PLENTY of other things calling for my attention/time, I should start focusing on things that have more to do with my current goals, and it is getting hard to keep up with what I need to understand for this job since I don't take science classes anymore. Reasons why I really didn't want to make this decision: I love the lab community and being nerdy with the friends I met there, I feel reluctant to let go of my last grip on hard science, I love working for Judith, and I was actually kind-of excited about the new project I was going to take on. This one was tough, but the people I talked to about it agreed that it was wise to leave this part of my life behind. I'm still friends with my lab people and get to talk to Judith from time to time so I'll get over the rest of it!
Over winter break I read a really inspirational book that further prompted me in this direction:
The Contented Soul: The Art of Savoring Life
by Lisa Graham McMinn
I'm not sure how to even describe this book, as she covered so many areas of life and how to be content and peaceful within them, so I'll just quote the inside cover sleeve:
"Our souls were not made for frantic, frenzied living. And, in the midst of our busy culture, we have forgotten - or perhaps never learned - how to savor moments and days. But Lisa Graham McMinn calls us back to a significant, simpler way of life, a way characterized by intimate connection with our Creator, authentic relationships with others and a profound hope for the shalom that is to come."
This is definitely worth a read and if anyone at Lawrence wants to borrow it, let me know! I might even consider mailing it if someone who is not at Lawrence is interested :)
Here's a picture I took at home, shortly after I got back from Ecuador. It's sort-of relevant because after a semester of living among stunning mountains, I was surprised how much I appreciated the beauty of the geographically simple, flat place I'm from!
