You may ask, "Who can have a bad day at Disney World??? The most magical place on Earth??" Apparently this girl can. Here we are on vacation in a lovely resort (that cost me a small fortune) with family and 30,000 of our closest friends wearing some mouse ears and eating until we're miserable... how dare you Lendy complain with your mouth full???
How dare I indeed. I guess I must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed, stepped on my glass slipper, and Prince Charming forgot to bring me my coffee. Needless to say I have had to drink lots of blood (from biting my tongue) and mutter lots of prayers to get me through this day here at the most magical place on Earth. Truthfully, that has been the story of many of my days here lately even back in the forest. Nothing is terribly wrong, but nothing is really going right either and I can't tell you how desperately I want this restlessness and general funkiness to go away. This morning as I was praying my way through 50 screaming children standing in between me and coffee, THE still voice spoke and has continued to speak to me throughout the day about some items that pertained to very present circumstances but could be applied even when I get home. For those of you who have had a rough start to the year, stepped on your glass slipper, or haven't found your Prince (or Princess) yet... I'll pray for you I'm still working at this myself. Meanwhile here are a few reflections from my bad day at Disney that may help you through it or at least give you a laugh at my corny psychology on life.
Just think to yourself....
1. I should get excited / be thankful for the small stuff. For me, after I made it through the screaming children I hoisted my coffee cup over my head like I held the Holy Grail. Hoist your coffee (tea, drink, water, whatever) cup in the morning like the trophy that it is. You made it through the night.
2. Whenever I am dreading something, I need to find something else that makes me smile. As I was getting dressed, dreading walking for 1,000 miles today I noticed that I had pulled on my fave pair of socks. They are red orange and match nothing in my wardrobe but they are fabulous. YES ORANGE SOCKS!
3. There is something to be said for 'lameness.' Temporarily vacating your life always seems appealing when you're stuck in the daily grind. Yet, I am beginning to understand what people mean when they say that they need a vacation after their vacation. Constantly being on the go and no regular schedule for wake-up, meals, or going to bed. My body rhythm is way, way off. I'm looking forward to my regular 6am wake-up coffee / e-mail sessions with my Pookie. I'm looking forward to boring chicken and rice, and peanut butter and banana sandwiches versus filet minon and fancy chicken. I am a naturally spontaneous and flexible person but it is within the confines of normal surroundings and according to my (seemingly irregular) routine.
4. 'Me time.' According to all the psychologist Lendy Johnson is an Extrovert (capital E) but with some introverted tendecies. This means I draw energy from being around other people 99% of the time yet I also like to have a few moments to process and think through things ALONE. This is usually accomplished during a run, in my car, or in my office. Fellow extroverts, 'me time' is healthy. I used to worry that I would lose my capital E status for actually looking forward to quiet time without being constantly watched, questioned, talked at, or picked on. After this trip, I am convinced some personal time is necessary for the safety of others, even if it's just for 5-10 minutes. Here at Disney you can't even go tinkle alone ya know? Anyway, you will not lose your capital E status.
5. Boundaries are good. Throughout my vacation my work phone has rang and lots of e-mails have come in. I knew this was going to happen. Part of the problem is that we have a conference next weekend and there are still some loose ends to tie up. The other part of the problem is I always choose to not turn my phone off and not ignore messages even during my "personal time." I feel lots of responsibility toward my work and the people I work with. I'm thankful for my job and the priveleges that go along with it. I love the people I work for and work with. I think of most of them as my friends. But I've realized that for the past 2 years work has sortof become my life. The running and training has helped but this constant connection to my e-mail and such must end. These thoughts really began churning one night last week when one of my best friends was talking about not selling her soul to a job. She wasn't talking about me or at me, but it really made me take pause. I don't want to sell my soul to my job. I hope everybody sees where my priorities truly lie.... Jesus, Others, & then myself. I want to continue to enjoy my work and be thankful for it and it's becoming obvious that in order for that to happen there needs to be some re-prioritizing and balancing. Some boundaries are healthy.
I could ramble on and on about being convicted over things like materialism, etc but the summation of my thoughts for the day is....
It can always be so much worse / the grass isn't always greener on the other side. And one bad day doesn't mean it's a bad life. And I shouldn't complain with my mouth or my heart full. I am grateful to be here. I will be even more grateful if God grants me passage to the not so most magical place on Earth, yet most comfortable and close to my heart place... North Carolina.
No comments:
Post a Comment