Someone once told me a great statement to remember:
“Everyone you know or meet is fighting a battle about something of which you are unaware.”
This time of the year we tend to think back upon folks who have passed in and out of our lives that we have either lost contact with or just haven’t kept up with for one reason or another.
You know how it is, you get busy taking care of all of your daily life stuff and then at the end of the day, week, month, year you recall someone that you were close to, but have not heard from in sometime.
You call or email them and get nothing in return. So, you try again and maybe again.
Finally, you hear from them only to learn that 1. They are ill, 2. Their spouse died, 3. They left the country, 4. They lost their job or 5. They won the lottery and don’t want to talk to any ‘old’ friends.
But seriously, our lives are so complicated we never seem to have enough time in the day to get all of the things we want to get done finished. We have a laundry list of items that we keep on our desks or in the back of our heads reminding us that this or that needs to be done.
And somehow it never does get finished, does it?
If you have kids, those take up part of your day, no matter how old they are, you still want to know if they are all right or do they need something. Should you help with their schoolwork or some class project? If they are teenagers, then the raging hormones and mood swings have to be dealt with. Do teenage drivers cause you any stress? Of course, they do. Is your daughter dating for the first time? What is making your son upset?
You can be 80 and have kids who are 60 and you will still want to make certain they got home ok or are they feeling well. It’s what we do.
Then you have a spouse, is he or her having a good day? If not why and what can you do about it?
Here comes your job and all of the responsibilities that go with you getting a paycheck on time. Did that report go out on time? Will we meet our deadline for this quarter?
We haven’t even gotten into your parents or siblings, have we?
And you get notices from your high school or your college about a 10-year reunion, then before you know it, it’s a 25-year reunion. You can barely remember their names, much less anything else you might have in common.
Too much to do, so little time.
So, looking at all that you usually do in the course of a normal day, it is no wonder you have little time to seek out others and make inquiries. You just don’t have enough juice left in you to sincerely get interested in other people’s lives.
This practice goes on for a period of time and those well-meaning thoughts get pushed to the back of the mind and before long they are forgotten and another year has passed. And time rolls on, year after year.
It’s not your fault.
You are doing all you can do and not many are stepping in to help you pull your wagon, are they?
Nope, they are all busy pulling their own. Their wagons are loaded down just as much as yours is.
In years past, when people were not so distracted and life was somewhat simpler, then relationships with others was not so difficult, was it?
Excuse this example, but we all seem to be on the wagon train moving along a little bit each day….folks pass us and some lag behind. We visit and tend to those in our wagon and give help as much as we can to those around us, but we just run out of time to get it all done in each day.
No one, none of us can be in all of the wagons at one time, can we?
We should try to do as much as we can for as many as we can, but we should not feel any guilt that we did not get around to everyone. It is simply not possible and you will drive yourself crazy trying to accomplish more that you can do in each day.
Don’t do it. Leave those folks alone who have passed you up or who choose to be left behind.
Leave it alone and take care of what you can, for as long as you can and for as many as you can….without sacrificing yourself and those in your wagon.
There is only so much you and I can do in a day that will matter to anyone.
Life is very short and our wagons won’t be moving forever on this old world.
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