Week Forty-Three - Keep it simple....Back off Blondie!

I’ve had to work hard at my serenity these past few weeks.  Times are hard and uncertain for many people, and I am no exception.  While I have been able to maintain a smiling face, and project a relatively confident image to the outside world, stress has been nibbling away at my insides, trying to get at my heart, the place where my hopes, dreams and faith reside.  So many opinions in this political pressure cooker America is simmering in over the past months, pre-election.  I can’t stand it.  It makes my chest hurt, and sometimes I feel sick to my stomach at the constant back-stabbing, just plain mean spiritedness, and sarcasm spewed by the media, pundits, political party followers, and the candidates themselves.  The newspapers, television, internet, and corporate break rooms are filled with biased, obnoxious diatribe;  the design is to degrade and hurt.  It should be candid and enlightening, and most of all honorable. Much of it isn’t.  I’ve lived through a number of Presidential campaigns and this one just makes me feel like I want to take a long hot shower to get rid of the residual grime.  Maybe it is because of technology and there are so many methods of inundating us with information.  Personally, I think this should be such a simple matter for Americans.  Just drill it down.  What kind of America do you want to live in? Predominately government controlled; tucked under Big Brother (or Big Bird's) protective wing, financially dependant.  Or  more personal autonomy,  accountability, and freedom to choose and succeed (or fail)?    Neither side is really ideologically right or wrong.  One path will never fit all. Everyone is different and free to express those differences. Can we do it without the venom?  That is one of the reasons why our form of government and lifestyle used to be held up as a role model for so many other countries not blessed with those inalienable rights.   I know I am grossly over-simplifying, but essentially, isn’t that better than constantly convoluting the truth to persuade others to buy into personal agendas?  I think so. Simple always seems to work better for me in just about every aspect of my life.  If it gets complicated, my heart begins to send out warnings.  “Pay no attention to the man inside your head, he’s all about the smoke and mirrors.

Last week, someone acknowledged my ability to look beyond the lack of beauty, unpleasant surroundings, and imperfections, in myself and others by looking further beyond the horizon at something different...at God’s patience, perfection, and calmness.  I was so grateful for such a nice compliment, but I must admit it did evoke a little head time in discerning whether the compliment was a true depiction of how I conduct my life today.   Do I look beyond the challenges, fears, and stresses in my life?  I came to this conclusion; I work very hard at it.  It’s not enough for me to  just LOOK to God for those gifts.  The fruits of those gifts come about when I support it with a little action.  I can’t just stare off into the horizon, and expect God to hit me with the magic wand of serenity.  Bing.... you’re at peace.  No.  Sometimes, you have to just walk away,   turn it off, do something different.   Step one, is to recognize when something IS affecting you. 

I’ve put this into practice recently, last week during the Presidential Debate.  The Vice Presidential debate ignited my ire for days afterwards.  I felt irritated and depressed, and cranky.  My sleep was even disturbed.  Last Tuesday, I did something different.  I didn’t watch any of it!  Oh, the pull was there to get engaged in the chaos, and at first I had the television on mute, but the body language was just as bad as hearing those verbal fisticuffs.  So I turned it off.  Shut it all down and plugged into a positive podcast that immediately soothed my jangled nerves.   

Saturday, my five year old grand-daughter came to help make apple dumplings.  We had picked fresh apples the weekend before and I was in the mood for some comfort food... a Fall treat. This was not her first time for this particular recipe.  She had made them before with her great grandma.  As I was rolling out the dough and spreading cream cheese (because she decided I was better at this function), she laid claim to the job of placing the apple in the center and “smooshing” the dough around the apple.  Completing my part of the task first, I reached in to help with hers.  Indignantly she looked at me, and said, “Hey, back off Blondie!”  Stifling laughter, I did.  

Out of the mouths of little ones.  That’s it!  That’s the key!

That is what I have learned to do with those things that make my heart race, hurt my feelings, or just aren’t conducive to bringing out the best me.  Back off.  It's easier to put things in perspective at a distance. The result has been the ability to look at things with more patience, feeling calmer, and even seeing things from a bigger picture view, as God sees them.  I pray I can continue to keep it as simple as my little granddaughter.  When something begins to affect me negatively,  it just might be time to "back off Blondie." 

WooHoo!