would you rather...?

years of youth ministry have made me pretty adept at asking these kinds of questions.

would you rather...
...eat steak or chicken?
...go skiing or to the beach?
...be deaf or blind?
...go to New York City or Paris?

you get the picture.

there is another 'rather' game that i play far too often. the i would rather be... game. sadly, this game does nothing but foster the discontent that i too often fight daily anyway. it's actually not even a really fun game, as more often than not, it only leads to dwelling on what i do not have.

i would rather be...
...in paris.
...in our new offices.
...spending time with angie/megan/nicky/jayden/family, etc.
...reading a new book.
...tall.

again, you get the picture.

none of these things is bad. and with the exception of the last one, all of them are possible, on some level, with some planning and forethought. the problem, however, is when one spends so much time focusing on what they don't have, where they aren't, who they are not around, that they ignore the life happening right in front of them. this is something i am always in danger of doing.

ignoring my life in favor of what i would rather be doing.

i need daily/hourly/minutely reminders to pay attention to my life. to remember that just because the situation isn't the ideal one i have dreamt of, it is no less important.

pay attention...