This morning, as I was leaving my gym, I passed a lady who was on her way in, and was struck at how less-than-happy she looked. She wasn't angry, or sad, or obviously rushed... she just wasn't smiling. At that exact moment of time, she couldn't have been aware that I was observing her, so her look could not have been one of feminine defense against advancement. She just looked... dour.
As I reflected on this, I thought back on all the people I had seen that morning, and even accounting for the effects that having to exercise might have had on one's countenance, I remembered frowns, and strained faces, and very little laughter and smiles. As I broadened the sweep of my musings, I began to think about all the people that I encounter on a daily basis, and I wondered when I last met someone out in the daily world who walked in joy.
I could recall some at church, but even some people there seem to be infected... and I wonder at where we are-- as a people, as a country, and human brothers and sisters.
As a Christian, I know the source of true joy, and yet I often find myself struggling to laugh and enjoy this beautiful world around us. I have been recently struggling with a very serious case of the down-in-the-dumps myself.
One would be tempted to place the blame squarely on the sagging shoulders of the economy, but I believe it goes deeper than that. I certainly recall having noticed these same strains among people further back than the collapse of the US home market. Regardless of the current fiscal state of the union, I have begun to think that we just simply don't take the time to relax, to share good time with people we love, and to fill our souls with the things that speak to our hearts and enrich us.
The other day, I had lunch at an out-of-the-way German restaurant, a wonderful little place that turned out to be a local foci for peoples of German origin here in the DFW area. On their menu, they had a delightful little statement about their what they desired to bring out in their patron's lives. It said, in effect, that if one was looking for a fast restaurant to get in and out of rapidly as possible, then they were not the place... but if you wanted to learn to slow down, and dine and converse with companions, then the true German spirit would be conveyed along with the meal.
It was a statement to take to heart, and I wish I had written it down. (It would not be unusual for me to pull out my moleskine and do exactly that!) As I rush from housework to yardwork to studying to violin practice to work to church to soccer... I, too, need to remember to slow down, and sit around the table of life with good friends, and some "Jäger Schnitzel mit Spätzle und gemischtem Salat", and stimulating conversation... and allow these wonderful things to bring some balance back in my life. May my fellow race-runners find such a respite too!
As I reflected on this, I thought back on all the people I had seen that morning, and even accounting for the effects that having to exercise might have had on one's countenance, I remembered frowns, and strained faces, and very little laughter and smiles. As I broadened the sweep of my musings, I began to think about all the people that I encounter on a daily basis, and I wondered when I last met someone out in the daily world who walked in joy.
I could recall some at church, but even some people there seem to be infected... and I wonder at where we are-- as a people, as a country, and human brothers and sisters.
As a Christian, I know the source of true joy, and yet I often find myself struggling to laugh and enjoy this beautiful world around us. I have been recently struggling with a very serious case of the down-in-the-dumps myself.
One would be tempted to place the blame squarely on the sagging shoulders of the economy, but I believe it goes deeper than that. I certainly recall having noticed these same strains among people further back than the collapse of the US home market. Regardless of the current fiscal state of the union, I have begun to think that we just simply don't take the time to relax, to share good time with people we love, and to fill our souls with the things that speak to our hearts and enrich us.
The other day, I had lunch at an out-of-the-way German restaurant, a wonderful little place that turned out to be a local foci for peoples of German origin here in the DFW area. On their menu, they had a delightful little statement about their what they desired to bring out in their patron's lives. It said, in effect, that if one was looking for a fast restaurant to get in and out of rapidly as possible, then they were not the place... but if you wanted to learn to slow down, and dine and converse with companions, then the true German spirit would be conveyed along with the meal.
It was a statement to take to heart, and I wish I had written it down. (It would not be unusual for me to pull out my moleskine and do exactly that!) As I rush from housework to yardwork to studying to violin practice to work to church to soccer... I, too, need to remember to slow down, and sit around the table of life with good friends, and some "Jäger Schnitzel mit Spätzle und gemischtem Salat", and stimulating conversation... and allow these wonderful things to bring some balance back in my life. May my fellow race-runners find such a respite too!
Categories: rushed people-watching german_food joy
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