Propelled by Stress
Are you being propelled by your values, your best and highest calling? Or somewhere along the way, did Stress take over the steering wheel. I’m thinking of that space when you narrow your focus, keep your eyes on the next thing to be done, and move breathlessly full speed ahead, all the time aware that a myriad of other “things” are calling for your attention. My friend described it to me just this morning. “I woke up in the middle of the night, heart pounding, feeling almost in a panic, wondering how I was ever going to be able to get everything done.”
I’ve often described this as being on the “hamster wheel.” We run and run and don’t seem to get any further ahead. We don’t have a hamster among our variety of household pets but my daughter does have a gerbil. And Elvis, the gerbil, has a hamster wheel. As I head to bed at night, I can often hear him in a room down the hall, running and running to nowhere. And yet Elvis has some instincts that serve him well. He doesn’t stay on the wheel until he gets sick or drops from exhaustion. Elvis takes plenty of time to eat and drink and sleep. And he spends a lot of time burrowing in the soft material in the bottom of his case, appearing snuggled and cozy and calm.
I wonder if we get off the wheel frequently enough. Do we take the time for nourishing ourselves? Do we find a cozy place to get away from the wheel so that when we return, we can run the race without the panic? And if we took more time away, might it allow us to run the race more fully present to the moment?
As we move into summer, we could decide to schedule time for real relaxation. Then when we return to the busy-ness of our lives, we might find that we are more aware, alive and engaged, better runners for having rested. Happy summer!