Aaaaaaah!
There. Primal screaming done for the moment. Or the next five minutes at least.
Do you ever have times when you get busy doing stuff and eventually come up for air and you’re not even sure what you accomplished but you just know you’re tired? And you feel like your exhaustion isn’t justifiable because What. Did. You. Even. Accomplish.
After a week or was it two … of schtuff – all good stuff, much of which involved choosing what was better – I found myself trying to remember what my plan was before this latest busyness attack.
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” ~ Luke 10:41-42
I am blessed with the opportunity to set my own plan and schedule much of the time. Which leads to the perception that I’m either always working or never working, depending on your vantage point.
Here’s the thing, though. I may be a high energy individual, but the genetic lottery of thorns in my side I’ve won, combined with the space-time continuum puts a limit on what I can accomplish. Contrary to popular belief and a myth I often perpetuate, I am not a spring chicken. Summer chicken? Fall chicken? What do you call a middle aged chicken!?!
In the midst of this latest busyness attack (I feel like I should create an acronym when using that phrase more than once … LBA), this chicken returned to her room for a sweater after loading up the car before church Sunday morning. I praise Jesus regularly for air conditioning in the summer, but sometimes I get cold. I looked down and discovered I was wearing two different style sandals. Both black, both the same brand, but different. My phone was already in the car, so you don’t get to see a pic. I felt vindicated for leaving Saturday’s cookout before the fireworks really got going. Apparently I needed even more sleep than an early(ish) evening afforded me. And probably a nap. Maybe a vacation full of naps.
In the era of 7 Easy Steps to Fix Your Life by Friday, there are no truly easy fixes. (Although a nap sounds like a good place to start.)
Also why does it feel like everyone is trying to fix me?
I’ve been in weight loss mode recently and occasionally have posted before and after pics to document progress and maintain some accountability. Maybe it’s just my imagination, but I thought I heard a collective groan when I didn’t say keto (the current trendy fad diet) in response to questions about how I did it. Um, I drank the nutritional shakes I’ve been drinking for years, sometimes more often than I had been, and I tracked food and steps. It’s calories in versus calories out and whatever it takes for you to balance that equation in the right direction. Eat less, move more. Make sure the calories you do eat fill you up and don’t leave you feeling deprived. If you have metabolism, hormonal, or other related medical issues, address those. It’s science. It’s math.
I’m never quite sure if people are just making conversation, looking for a plan that will work for them, or seeking an excuse to maintain their status quo. “I could never do keto … I could never do Plan XYZ (Remember the grapefruit diet? Gag me.) … I could never drink a smoothie for breakfast.”
K.
Sometimes we’re faced with too many choices in life and in our overwhelmedness choose not to choose. Sometimes what we choose isn’t what we actually get. Or what we expected to get. I played food truck with the cousins the other day.
I was asked repeatedly what food I wanted. (And sometimes what toy because a five-year-old views the world in happy meals.) What came out in response didn’t look particularly like what I ordered, but, you know, imagination.
Sometimes the work required to change the status quo is more effort than we want to put forth. Or are capable of putting forth. Sometimes the tradeoffs aren’t worth it. But in the era of internet trolls, unrealistic expectations, and a success-, possessions-, and accomplishments-driven society … someone is always waiting in the wings ready to say you’re wrong.
I learned over the weekend there is an online poetry generator. The only effort you need to put forth is answering a few questions. Someone described it as Poetry Mad Libs.
Here is the brilliant haiku the site generated for me.
Cold declivity
A fresh, avocado twirls
under the candy
Cold declivity ... A fresh, avocado twirls ... under the candy ~ Jennifer Grashel #haiku Share on X
I don’t believe it promises to know anything about comma splicing or capitalization conventions. Also it seems confused by the number of syllables in refrigerator. In all my spare time, I’m going to try to get it to split an infinitive.
Anyway.
As I have clawed my way back to remembering what it was I was actually doing, and that X needs to come before Y and Z, I was reminded of “what’s required of me.”
But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously.~ Micah 6:8 (from the groovy Message translation)
