Each Day Too Short

"I still find each day too short

for all the thoughts I want to think,

all the walks to take,

all the books I want to read

and all the friends I want to see."

John Burroughs

Statistics report that we each have 60,000 words to speak every day.  I am wondering where the unused words go.  Do they spill over into the next day like 'roll over minutes' with cell phones or do the words stay lodged inside waiting for the send button to be pressed?  Like cell phones, we have mute options to silence the self or a speaker phone for an all inclusive family lecture. Is texting like mental note taking with the mind racing against time?  Individualized ring tones are similar to the pitches of our voice, adjusting to speaking levels based upon relationship, respect or familiarity. 

Doctors encourage physical exercise such as jogging, walking, or fitness centers.  There does not seem to be measurements, however, for everyday life like chasing after toddlers, rushing after escaped pets, dashing through the mall, or lugging laundry or groceries up one stair to the next. 

For most people, reading is a required tool to navigate through life.  There are so many books:  recipes, gardening, budget ledgers, business reports, legal documents, and statistical data.  Reading through a stack of monthly bills seldom leaves time for a leisurely read.

Some careers require extensive traveling, surrounded by many people, but engaging with few.  With 'blackberries' or electronic planners time with friends can be squeezed in between existing appointments or sadly not at all. Elders frequently become home bound and live reclusive lives, talking only to family. 

I am blessed with leisure.  From daylight to darkness, I use all of my words, no longer willing to be stiffled by any judge or jury.  I walk in the glory of nature to be connected daily with all that surrounds me.  I read for both wisdom and pleasure to escape into realities of others who bravely placed their words upon the page.  I eagerly embrace arriving friends from dawn to dusk as they are the gifts of life.  Even when the day grows too short, it has been filled with all that nourishes me and rejeuvenates my soul.