Borders, again

I sit here in Borders again, writing. Across the little seating rea is a father teaching his daughter to play chess. Scattered about are students. Next to me is the girl who was having a distracted conversation on her iPhone while browsing facebook on her MacBook Pro. The music streaming overhead is some sort of African vocal acoustic recording. I like the quietness of the space, and it is good to be out of the apartment.

I do not feel nearly so artistic this time, though. Perhaps it is simply a difference in mood, or the fact that I'm sleepier and more frustrated with m job than I was three weeks ago. Peraps It is the humidity. In any case, it will make accomplishing my goals for the evening a trifle more difficult. The Pillar post should flow fairly naturally—though I try to write well for Pillar, it's more didactic than artistic. The first step for a new project, on the other hand, may take a bit more discipline and focus. (I'll let you in on the secret as soon as it's ready. Probably tonight or tomorrow.)

In the meantime, I will enjoy my full-score recording of The Fellowship of the Ring, perhaps sip on another fortified Izze, and hopefully honor God with my words.

By the end of this week, I will be working on a new original piece for clarinet and some other instrument (probably either piano or cello). I will have spent at least two hours practicing piano. I will have spent as much time working out. I will have been on a date night with my wife. I will have done many things. The question I continue to ask myself is: will they have been things that are worthy of my time? Will I have succumbed to distraction, or overcome it and accomplished meaningful tasks? Will I have loved my wife well? Will I have considered the things of God more important than the things of this world?

It is easy to lose sight of what is important, with the many urgent demands for our attention that clamor throughout our days. Whether we will succumb or glumly persevere, or count it all joy and walk with grace—that is what defines our days as good or bad, far more than their content.

Tonight, I will try to make good on that.