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More or Less

17/2/2017

3 Comments

 
“The less routine, the more life.”

This quote by Amos Bronson Alcott graced the front of a card my husband gave me recently. It’s stuck in my head.

It’s a call to living large, I first thought. Break free from the shackles of day to day schedules, fly by the seat of your pants, give in to spontaneity and let every new 24 hours be an unpredictable source of adventure and exploits.

I got tired writing that sentence.

Is that what Alcott had in mind?

Or does the phrase capture how the sick child, an extra project at work, the untimely breakdown of a vehicle – in other words, “more life” – steals routine? Is the inability to attend to routine activities an indication that there’s simply too much going on?

Whatever the author’s intent, I appreciate how this single phrase has challenged me to consider margin in my life. Is there enough blank space allotted each week to accommodate the unplanned for? Will “one more thing” slide in and temporarily fill my cup to the brim? Does that additional expectation have a place to land or does it send my cup’s contents splashing over the rim?

And all this mulling reminds me how much I like routine…with variety.

So today I purpose to re-evaluate my weeks, looking for places to build in predictable structure while leaving enough white space to keep enjoying my days. More routine. More life.

With love and gratitude,
Shelaine

​© 2017

3 Comments
Rosabelle S. Birch
17/2/2017 03:43:56 pm

I laughed out loud!!! I love how you think. I would love to join you in some of that margin :)

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Julia Dembeck
18/2/2017 04:02:29 pm

Thank you for sharing this simple but thought provoking phrase and your wise insights into it! Ryan and I were just talking earlier today on our walk how to create healthy routines but leave space for the spontaneous events or opportunities to serve that when it comes up we're not in tail-spin, or as you said well- our cups overflowing. Yes, white margin is needed. :)
I'm thankful for you and your wisdom!

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Ruth Braun
2/3/2017 10:43:21 am

I completely resonate with your thoughts on this. I have been realizing how important this concept is in my own life recently. How 'margin' isn't just a lack of activity, but something important and valuable in and of itself. How it allows me that space to truly breathe and, in doing so, better engage in what life brings moment by moment. Thank you for putting it so eloquently!

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    In The Midst

    Author:
    ​Shelaine Strom

    I am a writer by circumstance, a career and life coach, instructor and speaker sidelined in 2012 by a broken-down jaw.
    ​

    I am a writer by design, one willing to venture down a different path in a season of pain and waiting, offering my words and watching God use them for His purposes.

    I am a writer by choice who documented the journey of pain, the decisions made around an invasive surgery, the miracles and the healing process.

    And now I am a writer, who also works with Food for the Hungry, and is eager to share stories of God in the midst of it all.

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