Say Beans!
I've driven by the Bush's Best bean factory and visitor center enough times that it's been on my “one day I'm going to stop there” list.
For as long as I can remember I've been the one to do things to get ahead, stay ahead, prepare for what's coming and maximize-maximize-maximize! I never stopped at the bean factory because wouldn't it feel nice to get back home faster? Don't I have something else I should be doing? That I “need” to be doing? I actually would feel guilty "wasting time".
It feels like a new era, but it could just be me continuing to redefine success and learn my own motives for doing things. I'm definitely jumping in super deep on an email written about a bean factory, but legit. How many things have we missed out on because we've been trying to hurry things along? Not ‘waste’ time? Be sure we can get to it all. Maybe our whole lives aren't meant to be hyper calculated, methodical and planned?
IMAGINE FOR A MOMENT.
You see a bean factory. It looks fun! It even looks fancy! You're intrigued. And without overthinking it, you pull over. You stop. Just because. Due to a spur of the moment decision, you're now an arms length away from the world's largest pinto bean replica. You even sample pinto bean pie. What a delight!
I'm thankful for time blocking. For efficiencies and prioritization habits. For the ability to write an effective to-do list and honor the commitments I've made. For integrity and hard work. For consistency and agendas. Thankful for early mornings full of healthy habits and routines. For meal planning and spreadsheets. For the days where things ‘go as planned’.
However, at the end of it all, I don't think those will be things I talk the most about.
I think it'll be the bean factories of my life. The moments and experiences I could have never planned out. Never anticipated and could never recreate.
So, this week - would you stop at the bean factory?
Whatever it looks like for you, create some breathing and living room. Margin for spur of the moment. Let's live a little less calculated and rigorous. Be more gracious with ourselves and our time.
PS: yes, I got the shirt.
PSS: don't miss the giant silo of baked beans in the background
