to will the one thing

This past Sunday Will Hardy taught the Java Hut session around the topic of busyness. He used a video which shared a quotation from a great philosopher which said "purity of heart is to will one thing". In the video a father told a story of being at the beach with his family. His sons had been collecting fragments of seashells all afternoon, when a starfish was sighted bobbing up and down in the water. They shouted to one of their sons to go out and get it. He excitedly rushed toward the spot where the starfish drifted, only to turn around and head back to shore before accomplishing his mission. He did this several times, each time returning to shore without the starfish. His family was cheering him on, saying "You can do it!", "It's Yours!". Finally he shouted, "I can't get it!". When asked why he replied "Because my hands are full of shells". The broken fragments of shells he had accumulated had kept him from grasping the "one thing". This was an important lesson for me, and hopefully for the students gathered this past Sunday morning. We do try to get a little of everything. Hitting 15 minutes of that meeting, half of that game, a quick drive-by conversation with the family, and off to something else. What if we said yes to only a few things, or only one? What would our life look like if we could define that one YES to which we would give ourselves, thus knowing all of the necessary NO's that come with that focus. I think deep down we know this is right, but we also know it is hard. We have to say NO to good people and good things. We have to be okay with a certain reputation. We have to control our priorities rather than allow everyone else to do so. I'll end with the same benediction given on the video "May we drop our shells in order to grasp the one thing!"

How has busyness controlled your life? Leave your comments here to spur on the conversation.