Productive Life

Recently I was attending our staff retreat in Damiano Retreat Center, Danville, CA I had a quiet conversation with the Priest in-charge of the center. I find great inspiration the way he explained how he lives his life: the simplicity of life, the concentration and mindfulness of every activity and the calm and peace he find in his ministry. Let me briefly list some of my conversations and observations and I hope you may find helpful in your daily walk with the Lord (especially to my dear beloved students).

• Develop a spiritual discipline - Create your own way or form during the day to set aside for spiritual activity. "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God".
• Do one thing at a time- Remember to follow single task, don't be tempted to do multi-task. [Example:When you're eating, just eat and enjoy your food to the maximu. Don't try to knock off few tasks white eating.] Philippians 3:12-14 -pay attention to the word of Paul-"ONE THING I DO" [Not too many things].
• Do one thing at a time & Do it slowly and deliberately - Make your actions deliberate, not rushed and random. IT TAKE PRACTICE, but it help you FOCUS on the TASK.
• Do it completely and thoroughly - Put you mind completely on the task. DON'T MOVE ON TO THE NEXT TASK UNTIL YOU'RE FINISHED.
• Do less - If you do less, you can do those things more slowly, more completely and with more concentration. WATCH OUT!!!!! if you fill your day with tasks, you will be rushing from one thing to the next without stopping to think about what you do. [Ask your self how much is too much and how far is too far?]
• Devote time between task to meditate and reflect - This meditation is for learning to interact with yourself or with what you read/ write.
• Designate time for certain things - Designate certain day for certain activities. This ensures that those things get done regularly.
• Smile and help others- Smile as you walk as you walk around and ALWAYS ready to help. Destroy the deception of individualism. By helping others is a great way to improve the lives of those around you.
• Think about what is necessary - It is a good reminder that there is much in our lives that aren't neccessary, and it can be useful to give some thought about what we really need and whether it is important to have stuff that's not necessary. [Define clearly between your NEEDS and WANTS]
• LIVE SIMPLY - List things that you can probably live without it. Screen and get rid of as many of the unnecessary and unessential things as you can, to make room for the essential. [What is essential will be different to each person.]