How long since you sat in your green chair?

When I started this blog thing, I had no idea how often I would write. I confess at times I feel ridiculous doing it, wondering if anyone "out there" is reading it. And since I haven't written in a while, I figure if anyone has been looking at it from time to time, they're going to stop, because there's nothing new to read.

Well, here's something new and a bit of an explanation.

Last night I had a strong sense of needing to be home. Needing to be in my little office, to sit in my comfy green chair. It just felt like I'd been on the run for too long, even though I couldn't think what I'd been doing or for how long I'd been doing it.

So after making dinner and telling the dishes they could wait till morning, I did go to my office. I did sit in my green chair.

I stretched out my legs. I breathed.

And I thought, "Something is missing. What am I missing?"

I realized that I usually write in my journal when I'm sitting in that chair. I pulled my journal off the shelf with the strangest feeling of unfamiliarity.

You see, normally I write in my journal 4 or 5 times a week. It's just been a part of my life since junior high, and during most periods of my life, it's a regular thing.

And last night, I opened it up, wondering, "How long has it been since I opened this up?"

Two weeks! My last entry was from the night before Thanksgiving.

So, if I haven't had time to write in my journal in the past two weeks, you can see why I haven't "blogged" in all that time.

The experience reminds me of a story I've heard preachers tell, one that I actually remember. I won't recount the whole story. The gist of it is that people in another country refused to travel as quickly as some visiting Americans wanted to. They often (it seemed to the Americans) stopped their hike to rest, but it seemed their rest times were more than physical exhaustion called for. When the Americans asked why they weren't ready to take off, their answer was, "We're waiting for our souls to catch up with our bodies."

That's what my green chair time is about. Letting my soul catch up with my body.

Don't you think many problems in life could be avoided, and people would be healthier, wiser and more joyful, if they stopped more often to let their souls catch up with their bodies?

For myself, I'm making it a goal to sit in my green chair at least 4 times this week. Given the approaching holiday schedule, I'm even thinking maybe I need to be sure I sit there every night, since my soul will have a lot of catching up to do, given the motion my body will be in.

If you have a green chair, I hope you will be sure to sit in it this holiday season. Christmas offers so many gifts for the soul. It's a shame to miss out on them because the poor soul is struggling just to keep up!

And if you don't have a green chair or something like it, I hope you'll find one soon.