Mindful Living

JEFF MINICK For 20 years, Jeff Minick taught history, literature, and Latin to seminars of homeschooling students in Asheville, N.C. Today, he lives and writes in Front Royal, Va. See JeffMinick.com to follow his blog.

Life

Change the Pace and Win the Race

If you're constantly sprinting through life, a change in perspective may be just the thing

Afamous song of the Great Depression was “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” Today we might change that title to “Mother, Can You Spare Some Time?”

If you’re in the peak years of your life, odds are you’re sprinting through most of your days. You’re running flat-out as fast you can, like so many others around you, and you’re getting lots accomplished, which is all to the good.

But sometimes you may feel that some ingredient for happiness is missing. You aren’t sure what it is, but you sense some key component of the good life is eluding you, lost in the day’s hectic schedule.

Let’s say you’re an ambitious 30-something accountant in a large firm. Your spouse teaches part-time English composition in a community college, you’re blessed with a preschooler and a first-grader, and you spend weekends and evenings tending to their needs, making repairs to your home, attending a worship service, and driving your widowed mother around town on her errands.

And every night you fall exhausted into bed, feeling as if that race you’ve just run has no finishing tape.

Life couldn’t be fuller. Or could it?

In his book “Character Building: A Guide for Parents and Teachers,” David Isaacs discusses how the practice of certain virtues and principles can enhance our lives. In one chapter, he writes that “the complete rapport between how one acts and how one feels in one’s heart” allows us to meet situations and people as authentic persons. Coupled with the virtue of prudence, Isaacs tells us, this sincerity of spirit frees us from those destructive behaviors that might otherwise sap our time, energy, and enthusiasm—“trying to project a false image of oneself,” for example, engaging in sarcasm or backbiting, or worst of all, forgetting the main point of the race we’re running.

Let’s return to that 30-something accountant. In good conscience, he can’t make too many alterations to the timetable of his days. Work, his wife, his children, his mother, the house, and some civic responsibilities are non-negotiable obligations.

But this man may find greater happiness when he performs these duties by practicing authenticity, by embracing the moment. When he greets a colleague at work in the morning, he deepens that brief encounter with a smile and a friendly inquiry about her family. He cheerfully handles his duties in the office and listens—truly listens—to his clients. On the drive home, he shrugs off the worries of work so that when he enters the house he’s ready to give his wife a hug, listen to the kids chatter about their day, help prepare supper, and share some alone time with his spouse once the kids are asleep. When he drives his mother to the pharmacy or the grocery store, he leaves the radio off and has a conversation with Mom. After that worship service, he sticks around and visits with others in the congregation, showing a real interest in them.

Many of us can’t escape running the race. Obligation and responsibility push us forward every day. But when we make this effort to connect to people, when we live fully in the moment, when we’re genuine, we may find joy in the running and may even slow the pace a bit.

“Festina lente,” the Roman emperor Augustus was fond of saying. “Make haste slowly.”

Engage the moment and the people around you, and see what happens.

'Festina lente,' the Roman emperor Augustus was fond of saying. 'Make haste slowly.'

SHUTTERSTOCK Modern life brings its own unique challenges. In this column, we look beyond surface solutions to deeper, timeless principles and ideas that can help us be our best—and help others around us as well.

TIMEKEEPING: THE ESSENTIAL BASICS OF A WATCH COLLECTION

A watch does more than tell the time; it tells the world who you are. The ideal collection includes examples from distinct categories. They all make sure you're on time for important events while expressing your unique sense of style.

Dive Watch

By Bill Lindsey

ROLEX SUBMARINER MSRP BEGINNING AT $8,100 Designed with the assistance of Jacques Cousteau, the Rolex Submariner is the quintessential dive watch. Equally at home in the boardroom or 50 fathoms beneath the sea, Submariners feature the iconic Oyster watertight case, secure metal bracelet, and rotating uni-directional bezel.

Chronograph

BREITLING SUPER AVENGER CHRONOGRAPH 48 NIGHT MISSION MSRP $6,250

Combining the functions of a stopwatch with a traditional wristwatch, the Breitling Super Avenger Chronograph 48 Night Mission tells the world you have the soul of a jet fighter pilot. The matte gray 48mm titanium case, blue leather strap, blue dial, and highvisibility hands exude a no-nonsense look.

Complication

LONGINES MASTER COLLECTION MOONPHASE MSRP BEGINNING AT $2,450 A “complication” is a timepiece that performs multiple tasks. Longines’s Master Collection Moonphase displays 30-minute and 24-hour counters as well as the current phase of the moon, all in a sleek, vintageinspired package held securely in place via a hand-sewn alligator bracelet.

Dress Watch

PATEK PHILIPPE CALATRAVA MSRP BEGINNING AT $24,603 The Patek Philippe Calatrava is a wristworn heirloom that exudes understated elegance. Handcrafted by uncompromising artisans, each is a superlative example of a traditional round case wristwatch that transforms the act of displaying the time to a magnificent performance.

Smartwatch

TICWATCH PRO MSRP $299.99 The TicWatch Pro features hundreds of display choices, from classic analog with sweeping hour, minute, and second hands, to digital displays. In addition to the preloaded health and fitness tracking functions, the Pro is compatible with all Google Play apps.