It can always, always, always get worse

You know those weeks. One thing tumbles into the next. Events roll one on top of another. You free fall into the skies without a parachute attached to slow the landing. Is there an ending? Daily routines evaporate into the nanosphere of Never Mind.

It isn’t always a crisis that causes you to become unglued. The Great Dane knocks you over like you are a feather.

I could not write. Words stared at me on the page, mocking my every word with mental taunting if I dared pen a sentence. I find little comfort in repeating my complaints to the clerk at Wal-Mart as she feigns interest in my petty problems. Therein lies the problem: that same clerk had no water at her apartment for a week because she couldn’t afford to pay her bill. Her third boyfriend this year moved out, which was a relief when she looked back. She was a toy to him, no concern with her feelings or her children. If I had asked about her, my perspective would have shifted off of my momentary problems. Can I rummage some emotions for her burdens without spilling mine on the floor and into the store aisle?

The list seemed long. Staffing problems for my mom. Insurance problems from a recent car accident. My mom wandered away in a large department store. Security went into high alert, surrounding the butterfly who was trying to escape her cocoon. The travel, my husband’s constant traveling. Physicians called with an onslaught of problems, more tests and appointments, more diagnoses. I wanted my husband at home. Why am I back in physical therapy? A second car accident? Are you kidding me?

Do any of these things look familiar?

That is it. I quit. That is my line in the sand. I can’t quit. You don’t quit life. Overwhelming moments will pass. The dripping faucet called life just needs a new gasket. The repairman will come – if you pick up the phone.

Retrospect helps everything. A recliner is a blessing. A tantalizing book can take you far from the light and momentary troubles of today. Few things of this life are permanent. I agree that we shouldn’t sweat the small stuff. I disagree that it is all small stuff. Wisdom comes from knowing the difference.

This jumbled juncture is fleeting when examined with an eternal eye.

Not every bad break is negative in the long term; not every problem is a bona fide injustice; and not every injustice is major when juxtaposed against the millions of injustices that occur daily throughout the world.

– Robert J. Ringer, “Getting What You Want”

What are the trials you face today? What are some steps you take to prevent burnout? If you made a list of your problems, can you create a second column that lists Solutions/Coping Skills?

Tagged: DPchallenge, Events, Health, Life, personal, Relationships, Stress, work