SLOWING DOWN
By: Billie Joe Nussbaum
What does being “Purpose Driven” mean to me?
It’s such a common phrase in our day-to-day lives here at Nussbaum that most of us don’t consider its real meaning. I know I don’t. I mean honestly, who has time to ponder such things these days? Well, I think the fact that we don’t is precisely why it’s so important that we make time to do so!
Life is constantly changing. We live in a time of chaos, busyness, overwhelm, social media, and comparison. And it leads us all to take things for granted. To me, being Purpose Driven means to really live intentionally – to think about others every day, to slow down, and to appreciate life in all the chaos.
We decide every day to either live purposefully or to let life push us around.
I’m a single mom with two teens at home (almost – one is 12, the other 17) and a plethora of creatures that rely on me (*ahem* – us – my kids are a pretty big help with that!) to care for them. It’s easy to fall into survival mode, just trying to get through every day. And yes, there are days when it does win over…we’re running around to sports and things, taking care of animals and chores, just trying to make it through. By the next morning, I can’t recall anything significant about the previous day.
Despite that busyness, I make dinner most nights of the week (depending on Cam’s soccer schedule and Jackson’s basketball practices). We all sit together and eat dinner, chatting about our days and just what’s going on in their lives more than anything else. We often have guests – either Cam’s boyfriend or one of her best friends. There are always mouths to feed (creatures included!). We often linger at the table to finish conversations and just enjoy time together. It’s my favorite thing and something we’ve made routine within the past couple of years.
I hear people complain about having teenagers, but I personally love this season of life. They are honestly my favorite people in the whole world. At the end of the day, they’re humans – just figuring out life in their own way, wanting and needing to be heard, understood, and loved unconditionally. I think it helps that we don’t take life too seriously at our house. Sure, we have chores and responsibilities, and we all make our mistakes. But most of the time, we’re laughing. And I think, at the end of the day, that’s what matters most.
Being Purpose Driven is slowing down and taking time to connect with those that you love. It’s figuring out what people need most from you and trying to meet those needs whenever possible. Whether it be your kids, spouse, neighbors, coworkers, drivers, etc., most people need connection and conversation. It’s easy to get “too busy” for that. But when you look back at your life, will you really feel that whatever task you were trying to complete was more important than those people? Will you even remember what was so pressing? Probably not.
Slow down. Love people. Love your creatures.
