Monday, April 23, 2007

80/20

How much recycled conversation do you have?

Today is Sunday. Often on Sundays I play time machine with the week. I like to recall the top events, favorite moments, and chores of the week. What did I talk about this week? Food, girls, money, church, work, books; the list goes on. How many times did I reuse conversation? A lot.

Grace on Campus has increased in popularity and the resulting numbers for the last couple of years. I kid you not, our numbers on Friday nights average at about 290 with deviation of about 10 people. Grace on Campus doesn’t fit in Rolfe anymore.

And Grace on Campus doesn’t fit into my head anymore.

Not to be a prick, but I can’t track that many cool people. And yes, that many of them are cool. I’ve got my small group, my old small group, some CBM alumni, and that’s not counting new visitors, or freshmen that could use a visit or two. Realize, kind reader, I haven’t scheduled time for my friends yet.

After this Sunday evaluation, I realize I spend about 80% of my time talking about what I do for 20% of my time. My illustrations and stories rerun several times a day. It’s like watching old episodes of Seinfeld. Now, the disease is worsening, causing me mix stories together. I’ll start the story at a nice restaurant and end up in the middle of a bad high school dance experience. There is a definite increase in the question “have I told you this before?” Reporting the daily news on my life has become my new recreation.

I wonder if Brian and Greg Gumble ever develop a iterating syndrome from retelling the same story excessive times. I’m sure they drank a lot during the Olympics when Kerri Strug won the gymnastics Gold. The story was played over and over and over…... Reporting some tragedy in Scottsdale, Greg Gumble’s brain will burn out like an old Dell laptop battery.

I need to re-vamp my life somehow.

This needs to stop. Monday through Saturday are not made to be news sessions for what happened on Sunday. And my 30s aren’t made to retell everything that happened in my 20’s and childhood. Life is meant to be lived and seized.

Maybe less people and more of life?

Maybe less reporting, and more living?

Summary: I bet Dan Rather would rather bathe and lather than sit and chatter.

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