“The Sun, with all the planets revolving around it, and depending on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as though it had nothing else in the Universe to do.”

— Galileo Galilei

As my day begins, I look at the list of tasks I need to accomplish today and find that my mental math is challenged to fit them all into the hours between now and bedtime.  I like lists because they help me stay focused and remind me not to miss anything important as my busy life unfolds.  It is truly a blessing to have a full schedule and a long list of  ways to spend my time; but I have made some changes in the way I build my lists during the past few years, and I think that the busy sun would approve.

Since my goal is to leave this life with a list still waiting to be done, I try not to be too harsh on myself when one of my items from today becomes the beginning for tomorrow’s list.  Unless it is a matter of life and death, there are few things that can’t wait one more day to be addressed.  Prioritizing is important when you make lists; and some top priorities involve the nuts and bolts of life.  Deadlines must be met and responsibilities must be addressed; but while we are keeping all our planets spinning in an orderly fashion, we also need to take a lesson from the sun and remember to ripen some grapes now and then.

Galileo doesn’t say that the sun ripens grapes unintentionally.  He says the sun ripens the grapes as though he had nothing else in the Universe to do. What changed about my list-making a couple of years ago was that I began to make time for the creative ventures that I longed to do.  There is a difference between finding time and making time; and when life gets very busy, the chance that we will simply stumble on the time to be creative is less than slim.  Do you have something tugging at your heart that would allow you to fulfill a purpose that is a vital part of who you are?  Does it get relegated to the bottom of your endless list and struggle to get your attention as you drone through days and months and years?  Do you feel dissatisfied with the never-ending challenge to finally reach the point where you have time to create?

The sun always needs to manage the revolving planets.  It is his job, and I’m sure he will do it until the time that his light burns out.  My list will not be finished in my lifetime either.  We take for granted that the planets continue to spin in an orderly fashion; but when we stumble upon a succulent, ripe bunch of grapes, it brings sweetness to our life that grabs our attention and fills us with joy.  We should learn from the wise old sun and see that we make creativity a priority on our daily lists.  And when the time comes to create — to ripen whatever grapes we might contribute to the sweetening of our world — we should do it wholeheartedly, as though we had nothing else in the Universe to do.  Give it a try.  I think you will discover that the rest of your work seems less a burden when you have fed your soul and sweetened your day.