Trivial Pursuit

"A weak mind is like a microscope, which magnifies trifling things, and cannot receive great ones." Lord Chesterfield

I always know when he is doing some house cleaning. I open my email and see several from him, and all the subject lines start with "Fwd:" Jokes, dire warnings, tear jerking stories, pictures of adorable bunnies, kittens and puppies. Then there's the 21st century version of the chain letter. Send your favorite recipe to ten people within the hour and your greatest wish will be granted. I joked with him about it, and now it's escalated. I imagine him cleaning out his inbox and chuckling as he forwards this stuff to me, having a little fun at my expense.

Now I adore fluffy kittens just as much as the next person, and I've never been one to turn down a new recipe. But let's get serious. If you're not carefully organized, you can find that your inbox is so flooded with junk that you miss the emails that truly are important.

Trivia can really clog up our thought life as well. We make too much out of the daily annoyances. We take offense at a comment that was not intended that way, magnifying it way out of proportion. Then there's the careless driver who cuts us off in traffic. She probably never even saw us, but instead of patting ourselves on the back for driving defensively, we fuss and fume over that. We hear some gossip and talk and think about something that frankly is not even any of our business. We become overly invested in the lives of celebrities we have never met. And don't even get me started on how the person who bags the groceries always seems to put the bread in the bottom of the bag. Distracted and agitated, we don't have the time or calm energy to quietly meditate or pray. To listen to some inspiring music, to read something worthwhile. To paint or write a poem, to create something delicious in the kitchen. To have a positive conversation about something other than the weather.

Our minds are such marvelous things, and our thoughts can enrich our lives and the lives of those around us. But not if we are caught up in the pursuit of trivia.

Susan