The Distractions Are Our Life by Chase Butler
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By Chase Butler
Someone asked me recently why I'd been writing less these days. It's been a transitional, busy, challenging few months, I ashamedly admitted. As I reflect back on that answer over this cherished long weekend, I realize now the distractions are our life. They're not some disruption or interruption. They're the building blocks of who we are and what we are becoming, and the moment we choose to look at them as the obstacle instead of the teacher, we start to miss it. And I've been missing it lately...
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Someone asked me recently why I'd been writing less these days. It's been a transitional, busy, challenging few months, I ashamedly admitted. As I reflect back on that answer over this cherished long weekend, I realize now the distractions are our life.
They're not some disruption or interruption. They're the building blocks of who we are and what we are becoming, and the moment we choose to look at them as the obstacle instead of the teacher, we start to miss it.
And I've been missing it lately...
It's so easy to get wrapped up in the "once we get past this then" mindset:
Then I can get back to my discipline of writing.
Then I can get back to some form of exercise.
Then I can do the inner work that's just too much with all "this" going on.
"This" is your life. "This" is everything it's supposed to be right here, right now, if you're willing to hold it in the hands of an open heart and an open mind.
It's easy to let guilt and shame stop us in our tracks. "I didn't go walking like I said I would last night, I might as well not go tonight...I didn't post a blog again this week, maybe I'm out of good ideas."
It's counterproductive to dwell on the small, temporary shortcomings. We don't need perfection or 100% of our actions to be in line with our vision for ourselves, just the majority.
James Clear writes in Atomic Habits about this: everyday we make a vote for or against the identity we want to support.
We don't need perfection, just the majority.
So here's to accepting and welcoming this season, enjoying and appreciating "this," choosing to learn and grow, embracing my shortcomings, and making a conscious "vote" in the direction of where I know I'm headed.
Chase Butler
chasebutlerblog@gmail.com
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There seems to be a recurring topic that continues to come up in my life—the balance between contentment and goals. Do I appreciate what I have, and am I working towards something meaningful that forces me to grow? An either/or approach never works. On one hand, you lend yourself to apathy and stagnation. On the other, you live under the tyranny of nothing ever being enough, endless striving that costs you something you never intended. I don't pretend to have this figured out. Every once in a while, I sense the alignment between the two within myself, but it's normally a fleeting moment followed by the pendulum tipping back towards one side.
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There are moments when I long for an answer, clarity, inspiration, relief, or hope and receive nothing. Even in earnest seeking, eager anticipation, a proper posture, an open heart, a willing spirit—nothing. Then there are moments when I receive an answer, clarity, inspiration, relief, and hope when I least expect it. Not seeking, not anticipating, yet a glimpse is given. So what to conclude?
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If the idea of selling everything and living out of a backpack on the road sounds like a nightmare instead of a grand adventure, this post might not be for you. If challenging the status quo and questioning societal norms in the pursuit of a full and satisfying life sounds intriguing, then let's continue. The beauty of friendship is that conversations tend to draw out aspects of yourself that otherwise would have been left untouched and dormant, or at the very least overlooked or ignored.
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