Just Because You are RUNNING Really Fast... Doesn't Mean You're Getting Anywhere!

"Make yourself useful! If you have time to just STAND there, you have time to do something productive!"

I remember well the words of my dad when I was a kid; he was the sort of person who was always "in motion," in some way or another. It seems like any form of "standing still" bothered him, at some very deep level. Even if we'd just encounter a traffic jam, he'd inevitably take us on some insane loopy drive through 17 neighborhoods to try to get around it, rather than just wait for the traffic to clear.

As long as we're MOVING, we're making progress....

Colorful flowers from our garden

I Disagree!

Whereas I should probably wrap the perspective that I am pretty much a professional idler around what I am writing here, I find myself increasingly at odds with the modern world's seeming insistence that we should always be "doing something."

I realize that — at least here in the US of A — we are often dealing with the remnants of the "Protestant Work Ethic," but what good is this eternal busy-ness if it doesn't further the core values of our lives?

My dad's "fights" with traffic seldom got us anywhere faster (and sometimes took extra time, and definitely burned up more fuel), and seemed to mainly serve as some sort of construct to avoid simply sitting and reflecting.

And maybe that's what lies at the heart of my own reservations: I find the whole idea of "Action Without Forethought" a bit disturbing and distressing.

And yet? I have often found myself falling into that very "trap," myself...

Recently... I discovered that I was running faster and faster, and yet getting nowhere. Or even going backwards.

Apple season is around the corner...

My Therapist Said...

At age 58, I did not imagine I would ever find myself sitting in a therapist's office again. And yet? There I am.

The rigors of life sneak up on us in unexpected ways, and sometimes those "ways" come along and serve to show us where our inner breaking points are.

Which tends to leave us (or at least MOST of us) at a crossroads of sort: We can either pretend that we're "fine" and can just work our way through things as if "it's no big deal," or we can pause and realize "holy shit, Batman, I need HELP with this!"

Extreme stress shows us some interesting things... and often brings us face-to-face with the reality that — no matter how MUCH self-work we may have done — that when we near our breaking points, all the "toxic habits" and "programming" of our early lives tend to suddenly pop up and turn us into screaming lunatics to behave in ways such that we barely recognize ourselves. Which can be really-really self- (and -other) destructive.

In saner moments, you sit there and think "This really isn't who I am!" and yet... there you are.

The colours pf summer...

The Doctor Said...

In early July, I sat in my doctor's office, where she "confessed" to me that even though she's "officially" there to treat people for a variety of physical ailments and general health issues... about 75% of her patient visits are actually MENTAL health related.

We talked about that, for a while.

We talked about the incongruence of the fact that going to the doctor once or twice a year to have "a physical" is considered a core part of what makes us all Responsible Adults™.... but — ironically — we don't go anywhere and have a Mental Health Checkup every year...

... in fact, we don't go to a mental health professional till we're actually falling off the proverbial "cliff."

And then there's the associated stigma.

When we go to the M.D., we're being "responsible." But if we go to the Psy.D, there's something "wrong" with us; we're considered "nuts," or "unbalanced."

Ironic, that, given that there are millions of pages of studies and documentation to show that having the mind-body connection in balance and in order is crucial to overall good health.

Something to think about...

Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

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Created at 190801 09:02 PST
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