We Will Never Fill Up

August 2nd, 2012

California Someplace, click photo to view. Reminds that I’m conducting a Landscape Painting Workshop tomorrow and Saturday, with still time to sign up here.

The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.*

We just returned from travels and our days have been so full since, it’s like we were never gone. It’s a gift, really, a full life. There’s enough to do every day, every hour. We’ll never get it all done, or get it all in.

At best we come to little levels of  “enough for now.”

It’s rare when we climb a mountain that another doesn’t come into sight.

Before we even returned from our last trip we were talking about our next. Pre-dawn jet-lagged waking from sleep offers opportunity to get something else “done.” (Like writing this.) Every day has its focus. Then there’s a plethora of other, some left over from the day before, and some coming up but already demanding mental time.

Besides that, we’re passing by things on every side that are so interesting they could involve another lifetime of attention if we had it.

Something I’ve long said to myself: “I thank God for eternity when I’m running out of time.”

In a sense, we’re already connected to the infinite; that’s why we even think like this. We know that there is always more, more, more . . . and we’ll never have it all, see it all, hear it all, think it all.

Our Ecclesiastical sage cited this as just another vanity, but the same thing can be seen as another gift.

Once, deep in rich conversation with a good friend, we got interrupted and had to quit. “We’ll finish this later,” he said, then added, “We’ll never be finished.”

I loved that. And though distance has separated us, when we do meet we pick up right from where we were. We’ll never be finished.

Friendship, beauty, music, even our “to do” list, these are things that will never be complete. Not completely.

There’s always another mountain, but we can only climb one at a time. And the one we’re on is likely the one we were hoping to be on when we were on the last one.

So climb it, love it, and take in what you can.

Eternity’s coming.

Meantime, time is gift enough.

 

 

___________________________

* Ecclesiastes 1:8b

Next: A Handfull with Tranquility. Coming Monday.

11 Comments

  1. Ruby Aug 2, 2012
    8:25 am

    I love it! Thank you Hyatt. Hope we can pick up where we left off sometime too :)

  2. Kent Pace Aug 2, 2012
    8:52 am

    You did it. You put into words that which I have always felt. So much to experience, so much to see, so much to communicate, so much to share, so little time.

    I want less of the mundane and more of the meaningful.

    Never full… right on.

  3. Norm Aug 2, 2012
    9:14 am

    It seems that, for me, as time rolls on, I loose more and more control of just that … time. Things lose their finality, it’s harder to bring closure, and thoughts and reflections seem to linger. Now, this may well be a hint of senility creeping in, but I’ve come to think of it as a precursor to eternity, where there will be no end to anything. And that’s very freeing. Transitioning from the finite to the infinite is natural. And knowing what we have to look forward to on a renewed earth and restored universe (in a recovered body!) only fuels the flame.

  4. JoAnn Cokas Aug 2, 2012
    10:45 am

    I am so hooked on your thoughts. I look forward to each one and I have learned so much from you my friend. I hope you are starting a book. I want one.

    I also want to come see you soon and I need to start some lessons after summer.
    Can’t stand the traffic from NP to DP in summer.

    Thansk Hyatt.

  5. Kathy Neff Aug 2, 2012
    10:59 am

    Hyatt, What a great way to look at our human mind of “its never enough.” I like your comment, “it’s enough for now.” I think if we incorporated this in all things; knowing that God will fill in the gaps, we would experience more of His peace & His gifts to us in our lives.
    We also just got back from a long vacation, so I can relate to the “to do lists.”
    I love to be reminded that eternity will be absolutely perfect and there will be no time constraints, etc. Reminds me also to think of Psalm 16:11, “fullness” of joy is found in God’s presence.”
    Thank you for your uplifting thoughts from the heart!
    Blessings to you

  6. jcl Aug 2, 2012
    12:07 pm

    This reminds me of what an old friend said while going through a barage of “stuff.” He said, “At least it’s only temporary, until I die.”

  7. Marina Aug 2, 2012
    5:47 pm

    Brilliant, thank you once again! Embrace whatever is happening in your life in this moment, it was meant to be… That’s one of my resolutions for 2012. Perfect article and reminder that it’s all good! :-) And that we are blessed to be here!!

  8. Sara Morello Aug 3, 2012
    5:14 am

    One of your very best, Hyatt.
    Thanks!!!

  9. Lisa Aug 3, 2012
    12:22 pm

    It is like that when you see a friend and then you don’t see them for a long time, when you do it is like you never left. You pick up right where you left off! Such a blessing! Thank you for reminding me of that blessing in life! Lisa

  10. Kris Jones Aug 7, 2012
    5:10 pm

    I loved this and reposted it on facebook after someone else had posted it. To me, this undefined longing for more time is one more proof that we are made for eternity. That heart ache we feel when looking at a beautiful sunset fading, for example, is just “eternity in our hearts” that God put there; that longing for the place where there will be no more good-byes, no more endings, no more unfulfilled desires. Time shall be no more.

  11. Tim MacDonald Sep 6, 2012
    7:11 am

    Hyatt-I am away with Taylor for a couple of days, woke early and took time to read all of your August posts in reverse order- how rich they are, and how appropriate to end with this one! As our family is all in transition this year, we are all trying to enjoy every moment we have with each other, the beach in SC, other family and friends – and still accomplish all the essential details that will allow for a smooth move. The more I walk in sync with the Trinity, the more I am enjoying the present part of eternity I am experiencing…your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in h….

    Thanks Hyatt!