Convenience

Have we, inadvertantly, in our quest to make life painless and joyful and efficient, begun to take from life that which actually makes it rich and meaningful. In an earlier post I mentioned that life is more like a woven blanket or rug wherein the whoop and warp are the good and difficult aspects of life purposefully woven together to make a beautiful piece of fabric. Take one of them out and you're left with just stretches of used string or wool ... not good for anything. So I'm wondering if, in essence, we are doing exactly that, with the seemingly good intention of making life easier.

In mentioning this to a friend they said that to them, it doesn't seem as though when people receive conveniences (cell phones, internet, dishwasher, microwave, car, etc.) that they are less busy. In fact, it appears that those people just move onto striving for the next convenience. Our lives can never be fully convenient, perhaps, because there are no end to the difficult things we have to do.

I say this because I have had a fascinating thought: that it seems to me that those things in life that are really the greatest and have a most positive influence on my life, are really anything but convenient. For example: my son, Griffin. He is anything but convenient. He didn't come out conveniently! It was a lot of work to get him into life, to get him breathing properly, to get him adjusted to home life and now we are trying to get him to learn to sleep in a regular pattern. Really, we're just waiting for him to do that. I have no control over the situation WHATSOEVER. He wants to feed, be awake, have a poop and sleep at all the most inconvenient times of the day. And yet, he is a source of such joy and wonder that it passes all understanding.

So, what think ye?