I think that it is likely that yesterday’s blog was more of a sermon to myself than it was a message for anyone else. Throughout my life, I have been blessed with excellent health. Even in the areas where I have not always been the best steward of my health, such as weight control, I have not suffered the health consequences that some have suffered. I don’t have high blood pressure or diabetes or other physical ailments. I have good stamina and the ability to engage in exercise and the activities I enjoy. I can walk and run and paddle and ride my bike.

And, in a way that has been a blessing for me, and perhaps for other members of my family as well, I have not suffered from any of the major mental illnesses that create great problems, and often suffering for their victims.

So, if I have a day or two when I feel less than 100%, or a little bit down, I understand that I am a long ways from depression. The temporary discomfort or low energy that I feel is insignificant when compared to those who suffer from depression as a chronic illness.

In fact, I have been so fortunate in this life that whenever I feel a bit down in the dumps, I am quick to chastise myself. How silly it sounds for someone as fortunate as I am to complain. I try to keep my complaints to myself for the most part. I’m pretty sure they would sound trivial to any objective observer.

Sometimes, when I’m feeling down, I can fall into a temporary pattern of not taking responsibility for my own decisions. One of the big areas in my life is leisure activity and exercise.

My friends often ask me during the summer if I’ve been getting out with my canoes. They know how much I love to paddle. They know how good it is for me physically to get exercise. They know how good it is for me psychologically to get off by myself for a little while. My answer for most of this summer has been, “I haven’t been out as much as I’d like.”

The truth is that we have been busy. The truth is that we are always busy. I know that there is a bit of an old work ethic in me that says I shouldn’t go out and play when there is work that is undone. The problem with that way of thinking is that I never get my work all done. There is always something that needs to be done at the church. We are anticipating the largest capital funds drive of my career launching early in 2015. There are six new committees to keep track of and specific assignments that need to be spelled out to keep them on track. There are volunteers to recruit. We are searching for a new choir director. Have I left any leads that haven’t had proper follow up? There is a “to do” list a mile long at my desk at work.

So I use work as an excuse for not taking care of myself. The Bible is pretty direct in addressing that excuse. For the commandment about killing, four words are enough. For the one about the Sabbath, it takes four verses:

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
“Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
”But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
“For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:8-11)

Six days a week are enough to do your work. One for recreation and reconnecting with God seems reasonable. After all, who do you think you are? Even God took a day off? Are you more important than God?

I get it intellectually. I continue to struggle with putting it into practice. But yesterday, I went out paddling. I even went paddling with the blog unpublished. I had trouble with the publishing software and I decided that if I was going to get a paddle in and get to the office on time, I needed to go. So I did. The blog didn’t get published until mid morning.

The world didn’t come to an end. My inbox didn’t fill up with complaints. No one gave me any grief. Sometimes I wonder how I can be so dense and self-important that I think that the world can’t afford for me to take a little time for rest and recreation.

It is likely that the opposite is true. I am less efficient when I don’t take time to exercise. I have less stamina. I actually accomplish less when I don’t discipline myself to take care of myself. And it is likely that by skipping exercise I am shortening the number of years I will have to pursue my job full time.

It really isn’t all about me.

I love to watch the heron’s flight. A wooden boat and a wooden paddle allows me to come very close without raising too much noise. The great bird waits until it thinks the moment is right. Sometimes it will let out a squawk as it takes to the air. Sometimes it is silent. It is a rather ungainly bird as it begins to fly. Graceful as it stands and graceful in flight, it has a few awkward moments of transition.

The geese are always noisy and complain about my canoe when it is hundreds of feet away. They do however, have enough curiosity to allow me to paddle in their midst as long as I don’t chase them. If I come too close they take to flight with a bit of a splash, but without the ungainliness of the herons. The ducks don’t let me get that close. They paddle, paddle, paddle faster until splash, splash, splash they take to flight with wet wingtips.

And they all remind me that I am but a passing fancy - a moment in a lifetime full of mostly other things. They give me perspective.

I think I’ll go paddling today.

Copyright © 2014 by Ted Huffman. I wrote this. If you want to copy it, please ask for permission. There is a contact me button at the bottom of this page. If you want to share my blog a friend, please direct your friend to my web site.