Granted, continual distraction results in a meandering path through life. Maybe more accurately, obsessive distraction can be a symptom of a life that has not found, or has lost, purpose. (More on that in a subsequent post - if I don't get too distracted).
When we live in our purpose - when we have discovered and walk the path of our life's largest WHY - we are freed up to enjoy distractions. This may strike you as counter-intuitive, but stay with me.
Max loved walks. Walks by the lake. Walks in the neighborhood. Walks through a trail in the woods. He loved them all. I only had to get out, "Max, wanna...?" and he was at the door dancing, ready to go. (see LFM #1 | DANCE OVER THE LITTLE THINGS). As much as Max enjoyed the adventure of a car ride to the lake, and as excited as he was about the walk itself; he loved the pop-up distractions that inevitably came. In one location, which will remain unnamed until the statute of limitations times out, I would take Max off leash to chase deer. These were cocky deer. (I am convinced they may have been demonic deer.) They knew they could not be hunted or harassed. That is until Max and I came through for our evening walk. Not to worry, Max never caught one. Frankly, he wouldn't have known what to do if he did. But off he'd go like a blonde-red bullet in pursuit. I could almost hear the dear say, "Oh S...!" I always wondered if Max thought he might someday catch them, or if he just wanted to see their haughty hides goaded to run.
Distractions came in many forms. But always on the walks. Always as Max was pursuing his higher purpose, of being with and loving his family. Max's favorite distraction was people; not geese, not the attention-grabbing smells. Cats didn't garner a second look. But people - Max always tugged a little at the leash to say hello; to feel a stranger's hand on his head.
I guess that's the point of this post. We get distracted by so much. And obsessive distraction is a signal of an off-course life. But if we are ever so focused on the next step that we lose site of people, we are at least equally off course.
Jesus had a purpose. I would argue that if anyone, anywhere, ever had an overriding purpose, it was Jesus. His destiny was a cross, and his goal was to honor the Father by sacrificing himself for people (us). Interestingly though, when we read the gospel accounts we see Jesus continually being interrupted. Distractions galore. A blind guy. A sick woman. A rich kid. In each case Jesus stopped, turned, climbed a hill, walked over to a tree, stopped to write in the dirt - whatever; and addressed the person.
It seems maybe that when we are on course, some distractions actually fit our purpose after all. I think these (purposeful) distractions fall into two categories: 1) Stop and smell the roses distractions. These are self-explanatory. And 2) People distractions; which are in reality our real point of purpose in the first place.
So there... Go in peace and purpose. And be distracted!
BTW... No one remembers the dogs that stayed in the middle of the course!
For now,
D
