Do you ever have a day that just goes perfect? You hit all the green lights, favorite songs come on the radio (yes sometimes I still listen to the radio!), you go shopping, find something you love, and discover at the register it's half-price? Well, today was not like that.
I had a good plan. My day started right with a good breakfast, spiritual time and a walk. But the first work thing took two hours instead of ten minutes. That project led me into another unexpected task that took an hour. By that time, my Tuesday email was supposed to have been written and scheduled, so I could move on to lunch and my afternoon agenda. But I hadn't even started it.
Some days, are just ... some days. We make our best plans and life happens. I'm not sure if this is a by-product of my daily meditation practice—I'm on Day 132, 1846 total minutes!—but I think I'm actually starting to chill out a little more.
Most of the time, my response to a morning like this would be to keep going, no lunch break or anything. I would work from one thing to the next in an impossible pursuit to catch up. I would completely neglect my self-care along the way because after all, it's my fault that I ran behind, isn't it? No lunch or bathroom breaks for you today, missy! Ooh I can be so cruel to myself, the worse "boss" ever.
Today, by the grace of God, I was able to remove myself from my desk at a decent lunch time and have a nice meal. I did my meditation practice afterwards outside, for a dose of sunshine and real air, even though it was hot.
After what felt like a sufficient break, I came back to my desk to work on my email to you. I had another topic draftedthat I had intended to use, but it's a fairly deep subject and needed editing that I wasn't up for today. I will save that one for another time. My pressure dissipated by half when I decided to just sit down and share about my morning, reminding us all that some days are just some days. C'est la vie!
Days may go off the rails, but most of the time, it isn't really a state of catastrophe and we don't have to let our stress levels escalate as if it were. When I started to feel overwhelmed by all that I intended to do today, and knowing I still needed to blog first, I asked myself how important is it? I realized if I only sat down to write, "Hi friends, I am taking a week off due to unforeseen circumstances," I bet you all would have understood. I also remembered that I do these weekly
writings because I like doing them. No need to turn it into something I dread.
Often, it's not the challenging events of the day that really get to us. It's our rigidity. We want things to go our way, in our timing, without uncertainty or surprises. Two people can face the exact same "bumpy" day. One will have a meltdown and one will likely live ten years longer, because they've learned how to go with the flow and ask, "How important is it?"
Flexibility determines our serenity so much more than we may ever acknowledge. The degree of our serenity equals the measure of our ability and willingness to respond with ease when plans go awry. How flexible are you?
Are you having a perfect day so far? Wonderful! Good for you! If your day begins to unfold slightly (or a lot) less than ideal, I invite you to breathe and remember, easy does it. Focus on the next best action (NBA). A mantra that helps me on days like today: I have all the time I need to do what must be done today (and what God wants me to do today). The rest can wait.
Here's wishing you a day (and a lifetime) of greater flexibility and ease!
