As I was working on my internship presentation, I was (momentarily) distracted by the box of Celestial Seasonings Green Tea sitting on my desk. Knowing that generally there is some sort of interesting philosophical perspective found in one or more places on these boxes, I looked and found this:

“Caretake this moment. Immerse yourself in its particulars. Respond to this person, this challenge, this deed.Quit the evasions. Stop giving yourself needless trouble. It is time to really live; to fully inhabit the situation you happen to be in now.” -- Epictetus

On an initial level, this prompted me to "quit the evasions" and get back to work - papers and presentations don't write themselves. What I thought of next was the last sentence, especially the segment about fully inhabiting the situation one is in at present. This came to mind - wherever you're at, be all there. For several reasons, my mind is not here right now. It's off somewhere else. I'm ready to move on from school to what is next (what is next?). Anyhow, I suppose that I am open to the accusation that I'm not invested in my surroundings right now. In my defense, I'm only here for a net of 2 more months and I'm gone. But I still have work to do. There is a reason why I am still here, even though being here and in school is not where I prefer to be, nor what I prefer to do. I think somehow it boils down to the interconnectedness of patience and obedience - living a life surrendered to God even when don't understand why things are as they are.

I have no clue who Epictetus is. Look him up on wikipedia.