What do I have time for?

I just finished reading Room by Emma Donoghue. Through the whole book, I was impressed by the way and the things this mother teaches this son. And I couldn't help feeling like I could benefit from a lot of the wisdom shared.

Towards the beginning Jack and his Ma have a great conversation:

"My teeth feel a bit better if I stop thinking about them," she tells me.
"How come?"
"It's called mind over matter. If we don't mind, it doesn't matter."

What if we all did that? Didn't mind about things that didn't matter? And choose not to make too big a deal about things that we do mind? So that they don't "matter" in the way that just creates more frustration and drama in our life. That would be so cool!

Jack also realizes the human side of people, and that one act doesn't define a person. He says it best in this comment/ observation about his Ma:

She's not mean, but sometimes she does mean things.

And by "mean things" he means things that 5-year-olds don't want to have to do – momentary dislike for long-term good.

I think I like most (maybe because it so accurately reflects my life right now…) something from the end of the book:

In the world I notice persons are nearly always stressed and have no time. Even Grandma often says that, but she and Steppa don't have jobs, so I don't know how persons with jobs do the job sand all the living as well. In Room me and Ma had time for everything. I guess the time gets spread very thin like butter over all the world, the roads and houses and playgrounds and stores, so there's only a little smear of tie on each place, then everyone has to hurry on to the next bit.

Why do we do that? Hurry from one thing to the next and always talk about how busy or stressed we are? And even a better question – how do we do the job and the living thing? I sure want to know!

But, in some ways, I do already know. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf talked about this very thing in General Conference in October 2010

Let’s be honest; it’s rather easy to be busy. We all can think up a list of tasks that will overwhelm our schedules. Some might even think that their self-worth depends on the length of their to-do list. They flood the open spaces in their time with lists of meetings and minutia—even during times of stress and fatigue. Because they unnecessarily complicate their lives, they often feel increased frustration, diminished joy, and too little sense of meaning in their lives.

Then President Uchtdorf reminds us that we don't have to stay in this crazy busy pattern:

There is a beauty and clarity that comes from simplicity that we sometimes do not appreciate in our thirst for intricate solutions.

I find that it is easier for me to keep things simple – to keep things in perspective – when I focus on living the gospel of Jesus Christ. When I make time to pray and read my scriptures and serve others.

Which reminds me of some other great advice (that I need to implement in my life again right now...)

When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities.
- President Ezra Taft Benson

So, I've been trying to slow down a little bit. To ask if I really need to do something or am just in a cycle of craving busyness and a long to-do list. And most importantly to make time for the little things that keep me close to God. Yes, that means that I might not mark quite as many things off my to-do list, but over the past few days I've found that it doesn't stress me out so much. That I am still able to do what I really need to – and recognize what those things are.