“Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions.”
~ Henri Nouwen
Driving through Rangely Tuesday on my way to the commissioners’ meeting I glimpsed a message on the sign outside Nichols’ Store. I almost stopped to take a picture, but not wanting to be late to the meeting, I promised myself I’d remember what the sign said.
Fast forward four meetings and 12 hours and the specific wording has, of course, slipped my mind. In a nutshell, the sign said something to the effect of “pay attention to what matters most.”
It made me think. What does matter most?
In a world where we’re bombarded with the trivial, the inconsequential, and the irrelevant, much of which is strategically designed to trigger an emotional reaction, figuring out what matters, what’s important, and what we should focus on, can be challenging. Everything around us is clamoring for our attention. It’s up to us, individually, to decide what’s worthy. Sometimes, maybe most of the time, it’s not things that matter after all.
By Niki Turner | [email protected]
