A day of little things

Today was truly a day made up of so many insignificant and unfinished bits and pieces that I can hardly pull it all together. Thankfully, I started the day with my usual time to connect with the Lord. However, it was full of distractions, as I 'rudely' ignored the Lord time and again...my mind drifting into many busy thoughts. Anyway, just being there was a discipline worth keeping. Next a few simple errands nearby and a couple of phone calls. After lunch I launched out to do the more major tasks of the day - visits to an aunt in hospital and to my special friend Yuen Loong, whom I have not seen for a couple of months. I found out on arriving at the ward that my aunt had just been discharged because she had an infection and the operation could not be carried out. At least, I've found out how the new parking system works at the hospital and discovered my way around the new wing of the hospital! Anyway, after that I went over to Yuen Loong's house and spent some time chatting with his mother (as much as I could with my limited Cantonese vocabulary!) But I guess it was the effort to go that meant more than being able to discuss many things. It is a different world I enter at such homes. I marvel at people who live simple lives, day in and day out. They do not have many places to go, and everyday is the usual routine of household chores. Yet there they are, patiently living life as it probably should be lived by more people, instead of the mad rush to do and achieve that is part and parcel of the lives of many people today. I wonder: can we (I) live with less? Is it possible to simplify life? It may not be to the extent of embracing a 'village' lifestyle, but surely there is a more sane way to live even in our city.

A day of little things is not too comfortable for me. It seems many things are done and yet nothing is really accomplished. I guess I still have a lot to learn about living simply through the day. I guess it is ok to gather the day as it is, seemingly fragmented, and offer it all to the Lord who will piece it all together, in the way only he knows how. I tell myself it is ok to spend the day like this. Many little things become meaningful because he is somewhere in them all.

"You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar, You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways...."