The Art of Spending a Day

How should a person live each day?

There is merit to the adage that each day should be lived as if it was the last one. But seriously, how many people have live Saturday the same as they live Monday? I cannot answer how I would spend my final twenty-four hour period of my life. But I can answer how I would like to spend each day.

Pray and Meditate Each Day

I pray and read scripture and devotional literature each morning. Please note I cannot in goo0d conscience to claim I do this every morning. Some occasions I do not. I understand morning prayer is not for everyone. But I am a morning person. Some people are more comfortable with reading and meditation.

Labor at Something

I usually cook at least one meal every day. Other days I do certain projects. Spring and summer days I work outside. What I mean by work is something manual. My work of writing and study (like I am doing now) is a part of each day too. However, I do not get the satisfaction as when my body moves. I like being moderately active. Doing so gets me out of my head. Some people will be able to develop a skill in a craft that serves this purpose.

Each Day Take Care of Your Self

Some people claim they have a body. This is inaccurate. We are bodies. The soul is not a little person dwelling behind our eyes. Some say that we see the body through the medium of the soul. The way we smile, frown, look with our eyes, or wrinkle our foreheads when pondering a problem gives another person a sense of our personality. Without the body none of these things are ever seen. We could argue the self is body and soul. But I do not like that definition. It is too circular.

Keeping one’s body clean, eating healthy, and daily activity allows a sound body do what it is meant to do. The body is designed for physical self-care.

Explore and Play

Curiosity is common in children. Adults tend to lose curiosity into falsely believing we know all that is necessary. In Barbara Kingsolver’s novel The Poisonwood Bible, the missionary father believes he knows all he needs to know about planting a vegetable garden. He disregards the advice of the old woman in the village who knows how to plant in her climate and her soil. Curiosity leads to exploration and learning. It keeps a person humble.

Play grows out of this sense of curiosity too. But it is often when we learn something about ourselves. We learn in the limits of our abilities. Also, we learn where we need to sharpen our skills. If we persist, we learn how to make the best situation we know how. Adults tend to become involved in games of chance and gambling because they cease to be curious. It is easier to blame one’s luck or fortune than to learn anything.

How to Spend a Day

Thoreau once said he wanted to write about the art of spending the day. On the one hand it sounds like a practice of stoic philosophy. On the other, it may simply be self-absorption. Should people spend the same day as I would? St. Paul says, “Be imitators of me as I am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1) And yet, imitation is not what Jesus asked or demanded. Instead Jesus asked us to seek completion and be fully integrated persons. Unfortunately, we misconstrue what he meant by perfection.