Participate!

Are you an active participant in your life? Yes, you say?

What if I take away your cell phone, your tablet, your laptop? Are you still an active participant in your life? Is it really considered “active” if you can’t physically see it, touch it, or be changed by it? I could talk about the twinkie hot dog dessert recipe I saw online, however, does it matter what I say if I didn’t actually make it and taste it? I can have an opinion all day long but what is it based on?

I’m sure my family gets tired of hearing the word, however “participate” is a highly deployed word in my vocabulary. Participation leads to experiences, and nothing can make your soul richer than a wide variety of life-enhancing experiences. I want to make sure my family gets to participate in fun, enriching experiences whenever the opportunities come along. (We have to search out the positive things as those negative ones seem to find us all no matter what! Having a cast is an experience, but twice is enough…)

I can watch videos online of rescued dogs all day, or I could spend a few hours volunteering at my local animal shelter. Which one would be more rewarding and give me something to talk with others about?  I sent one of my grandchildren on an introductory flight lesson. Do you think he still talks about it? Wondering through a field of sunflowers for an afternoon was a soothing reflection on nature. The younger girls still love looking back at those pictures. An afternoon of fishing requiring them all to touch fish and worms was an experience, I’m just not quite sure if that ended up being positive or negative. Worms are gross! Taking donations to a local youth shelter and spending a few minutes in conversation with those teens is good for the souls on both sides of those discussions.

Participate when you find an opportunity. Go to the Fair. Watch some local little league. Visit the museum. Try a different flavor of ice cream. Unexpectedly end up on the stage at the Comedy Club. Share it all with friends and family, and I guess you could share your experiences online, too, and let people live vicariously through you!

~Contributed by Melody Lowe