Thursday, November 11, 2010

Relax....

I got a bit of advice this morning. And it was well timed. It was not anything I had never heard before. Nothing that I don’t already know and most of the time try to adhere to. But sometimes we forget what we know and have to be reminded occasionally. I guess my friend could tell I was pushing the edge as he calmly and quietly, as is his nature, gently suggested to me to simply…. relax. A simple single word spoken sincerely by a concerned friend changed my whole attitude at that very moment. My entire body began to unwind and I could almost feel the ice in my veins start to thaw a bit. Instead of being faced with a day of tension, anger, and stress, I could now see that this day could be saved. All I had to do is, relax. Apparently the power of suggestion took an immediate hold on me and suddenly the day seemed a little brighter. He did not change the circumstances of my stress. He did not “fix” anything at all. But what he did was give me permission to take control and make a choice. And I chose to relax. Simple. My friend also reminded me that most things in life will pretty much work themselves out. And whatever the outcome, all the worry and stress you may throw at any problem usually ends up being wasted.

The source of my stress has been like a bee buzzing around my head for the last few months, never knowing if or when I would get stung. But if you have ever had a bee chasing you, you know the more you swat and run, the more aggressive the bee gets. Sometimes if you just stand still and be quiet, the pesky little varmint will just fly away and go find someone else that is a lot more fun. Easier said than done when you think at any moment you are gonna get popped a time or two by the bee. But in reality, for most of us, the thought of the bee sting is multiplied in our heads so much that sometimes the actual sting is a relief. We can hurt ourselves far more by trying to get away from the bee than taking the hit.

I will spare you the ugly details of what exactly has had me so riled up and ready to throw a bonifide conniption fit. In a few short days it will all be behind me and I will be headed to Louisiana, home, and family. When I leave this place, I hope to take just the good memories with me and there are a ton of them. I’ll take what I learned from the lessons, but not dwell on the lessons themselves. They were just instruments to get my attention and help me learn what I needed to know….for now. I suspect and certainly hope there are many more lessons out there for me to struggle through and eventually learn. I hope I can do myself a really big favor when the new lessons begin. It sure makes them a lot easier to learn when you slow your head down a bit and remember the advice of a good friend and simply….relax.