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One, two, buckle my shoe. 3,4, shut the door, 5,6, pick up sticks, 7, 8, lay them straight, 9, 10, big fat hen. Why in the world would that childhood to-do list rhyme pop into my head? No doubt, it arose from some mental dross of decades past about lists.
Lists always have helped organize my life; organization generally provides a sense of peace. Bill might disagree (about peace); he could tell you that I tend to “overbook” myself, which frequently cuts into our family time. My response usually is that I love my life and enjoy what I do. However, most of that to-do list is negotiable.
Our schedules as a couple do include some non-negotiables – our couple to-do list. 1. We celebrate our relationship on our month-aversary and enjoy a special time together. 2. We have a weekly Monday Meeting and spend at least one uninterrupted hour discussing our relationship. 3. We pray together, as Benediction Oblates, the Liturgy of the Hours in the morning and spiritual reading mid-afternoon.
Before we married, Bill and I attended a retreat where the presenter asked the group, “What are your priorities in life? If you really want to know, look at your calendar.” How true! People usually schedule what’s really important, the ‘have-to-do’ first. She suggested scheduling our prayer times first on our calendar, and then everything else around it.
Some good advice came recently in a book, Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World. The author, William H. McRaven, suggests starting your day with a task completed: Make your bed. He writes that you change your world by beginning with simple things.
And just in case we fail in our best intentions – The quote "always we begin again," attributed to St. Benedict of Nursia (c.480-547), summarizes a core principle of his Rule, emphasizing that spiritual growth involves daily renewal and starting over, even after failure. (RB 71)
--Jan
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