A Different Kind of Scorecard

Planners and calendars are very generous with space for everything we need to do. Some of them give us a full page…maybe 20-30 tasks to create a daily rhythm. Just little things…laundry, walking the dog, making meals, getting exercise, morning prayer time, right? Sigh.

We fill those lines and then we focus on the things we don’t finish. We’re keeping score, but not in a good way. We’re catching ourselves not doing it all. We often can’t see the progress because we can’t tally it. We can’t finish it. We can get 31 checks in a row. No wonder we get discouraged.

This Tuesday, I wrote about our orchard producing no fruit. (Here’s the post: The Gifts I Almost Missed.) It was easy to look at the empty branches and decide the trees had given us nothing. Meanwhile, they were offering us shade, shelter, clean air, and leaves that would feed the soil. The were also giving me a beautiful view out my window.

The fruit was missing, but the gifts were not.

Robin Wall Kimmerer asks:

“What if our metrics for well-being included birdsong, the crescendo of crickets on a summer evening, and neighbors calling each other across the road?”

I love that kind of scorecard. We could count the smell of fresh cut grass drifting in the window. The scent of fresh peaches on the counter. Friendship could count. Resting before we are exhausted could count.

My mom used to say she wanted her hair dyed the same color as the family golden retriever’s fur. His coat was a dark, deep gold. It was truly beautiful. I’m fairly certain no planner has a box labeled: Admire the dog’s fur, but perhaps there should be. Completion is not the only evidence of a good life.

What kind of scorecard are you using? Are you counting progress, beauty, rest, and small kindnesses? Is your life offering more than your checklist knows how to measure.

I’ll be cheering you on,

 

You can get Kimmerer’s book, The Serviceberry. This is an Amazon affiliate link. I may get a small commission on qualified purchases at no additional cost to you.