"to do list" by Marco Verch CC BY 2.0. Source: Flickr .
In a recent
conversation, a friend and I were going over our plans for the day. We each had
a 'to-do' list of tasks ahead of us... and we decided to be intentional about
one minor change.
Rather than
view the items on the list as a "have to" - as in, I have to do
laundry, I have to prep for tomorrow, etc. - we decided to see them as
"get to"s - as in, I get to make dinner. I get to walk the dogs.
It's a subtle
nuance - the task itself still needs doing.
But the shift happens internally... away from an onerous task to an
opportunity for gratitude and engagement.
I get to make dinner, and I have abundant healthy food choices in my fully
operational kitchen. Some ingredients came from a local store I can afford,
others from the market where I can chat with the farmers. Thanks be to God!
I get to walk
the dogs - taking them to a beautiful and safe roadway, where we can all get
some exercise and fresh air, say hello to other dog walkers, and simply enjoy
the day. And any time with dogs is good time! Thanks be to God!
You get the
idea - with anything we do, we can choose how we will engage it. Sure, there
are things we don't enjoy doing (dusting, for example, does not excite me). But
the attitude we carry to those tasks will influence how we see those tasks -
and thus how we see our day.
So whatever tasks
are on our lists - housework to homework to faithwork to whatever - I hope we
are at least neutral in the 'getting' to do them, so that our days never feel
burdened.
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ReplyDeleteI've kept listing things to be grateful for separate from things to do. Never thought of combining them but after reading this I'll try it. It makes good sense! For example, I have basil in the greenhouse for making pesto, so I get to take fresh grown basil that I've seen grow from a seed to a big plant and make it into a pasta sauce that I love the taste of and can enjoy even into winter after freezing it. I think using this positive approach will be a bit more challenging with the chore of cleaning litter boxes however. Hmm we'll see how it goes!
ReplyDeleteThe pesto sounds lovely!!
DeleteIf you can figure out a way to enjoy the litter box cleaning, do let me know... as much as I love walking my furbabies, the clean-up does nothing for me. It's still a "have to" rather than a "get to"!