Less Of Me

There are many times in our lives that we need ‘balance’. You hear that term a lot in life. People will say to have balance in your diet, balance time with your family, time with your friends. Sometimes just thinking about having and maintaining balance in itself is the issue that makes us live a life without good balance!

Today I was on a hike. Turned my iTunes selection on to listen to and then put my ear buds in my ears to enjoy a nice walk with encouraging songs. I had the volume on fairly loud as I started down the trail. I was unaware that there was someone on a mountain bike yelling at me from behind for me to move over on the path so he would not hit me or for me to give him room to pass and because of my iTunes on louder than it should have been, I couldn’t hear him. The biker was annoyed, I apologized. Then I had this thought.....

In our lives we need balance, as an example I think of my hike and the music volume being so loud on the trail. I didn’t want to have my music too low that I couldn’t hear it, and I shouldn't have had it too loud that I drown out any possible causes for my attention as I could.
In life, we need to be aware, alert and prepared for the attention we may need to give others in our lives. Life is not all about you and like that earplug example, drowning out the problems of others around you that you refuse to be aware, attentive and present to hear and see their needs just as much as your own.
 In Philippians 2:4 it says "Let each of you look not only to your own personal interests, but also the interests of others."

To value others around you means to make a conscious effort to lay down your own agenda daily. Living moment by moment with an attitude of humility that your needs are just as important as everyone else's.