Journeyer,
you’re not going to believe this, but we are on the road.
Again.
{Insert
Chuckle.} You know that old saying, “Sometimes it’s better to laugh than cry.”
The
only thing I’m not really looking forward to is these next several thousand
miles as we drive from New York to Charolotte to Nashiville to Shreveport…before
loading up Fave’s house and making the eight-hundred-and-fifty mile trek back
to Charlotte, where our boy is relocating to.
And
then we have the five-hundred-plus mile drive back home…
I’m
not looking forward to what all those hours in the car are going to do to my
already tight muscles.
So
I’ve tried to prepare as best as I can: I’ve packed my best pair of walking
sneakers and am determined to take the time
to give myself a daily walk.
I
matter enough, my body matters enough that I am making that commitment to myself.
I
am looking forward to taking in scenery as I set out on foot in these different
parts of the country.
Warren
and Fave have a weekend seminar in Nashville, and I expect that region to be
simply breathtaking as I meander on foot.
In
preparation for this trip, Hubby has been working all sorts of crazy hours.
And
I do mean CRAZY.
He’s
been leaving the house before eight in the morning and working until eight,
nine, ten…even eleven o’clock one night…
Those
changes in schedule tend to create a bit of anxiety for me, body memory of
those days of infidelity.
Warren
has also picked up a few extra jobs, regular customers who have had some
immediate needs that he found himself saying ‘yes’ to.
Toss
in a few other minor details like a title that hasn’t arrived for a truck he
recently purchased, which necessitated a great deal of time tuning up another
vehicle…well, you can see why he’s been away so late every night.
After
finding out he’d taken on yet another job, this thought went through my head: When you say ‘yes’ to one thing, you are saying
‘no’ to another.
Of
course I was thinking of it in terms of: You
saying ‘yes’ to that job is saying ‘no’ to dinner with the family, it means the
leaking shower head is going to leave rust marks on the tub for at least
another few weeks…
He doesn’t have a
problem saying NOT ‘no’ to everyone else.
That
is where our brains go, right?
But
then it dawned on me.
That philosophy works
on my end, too.
When
I say, ‘yes’ to the fear and the anxiety, I am saying ‘no’ to trust.
That
sort of apprehension is like a hazy pollution that clouds my memory of all the
times he is home for dinner and for all those times he does say ‘yes’ to the house,
the kids, the lawn, the leaky toilet, to long hot tub soaks beneath a sky
filled with shooting stars.
You
know that conflict that’s gnawing at your heels right now?
What
is it?
To
what are you saying ‘yes?’
Do
you have financial worries?
Are
you saying yes to Starbuck’s and eating out and movie nights?
Warren
and I took Beauty and Big Guy for dinner and a movie the other night, to the
tune of a one-hundred dollar bill!
The
dinner tab included waters all the way around and a twenty dollar certificate
at Olive Garden.
And
our movie treats were comprised of four one-dollar boxes of candy.
The
fact that that type of double-header outing is a rare treat for us is what
allows us to travel as much as we do.
That
and the cooler of drinks, fruits, veggies, and homemade sandwiches that we
always pack.
What
other things can you choose to say ‘yes’ to?
So
often we allow ourselves to get swept up in drama or turmoil or uncertainty.
And
though it’s a pretty natural reaction, what also tends to come with these occurrences
are the feelings that we are not in control. Of anything.
We
begin to feel that we don’t have any sort of choice.
And,
yet, ultimately, we do.
Even
when unsuspecting sadness or joy or anger descends upon us, we can choose who
we react to it.
Choice
is the foundation upon which The Five Facets Philosophy is built.
Whereas
tragedy or misfortune, and the grief that ensues are often not within our power,
healing is.
When
it comes to healing, we are absolutely in the driver’s seat.
Today,
I’m choosing to begin a new reflection and to spend more time focusing on the
choices I’ve been unwittingly making…
What
about you? Can you identify a particular incident where saying ‘yes’ to
something might make a difference in your life or heal some hurt?
Until
next time, yours in healing, hope, and happiness.
~AE
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