HELP I’VE FALLEN AND CAN’T GET UP

I’ve been taking special note of the times during the week when I feel hopeless.  I’m trying to identify what makes me feel that way and when I am successful at replacing the hopeless feeling with joy. 

First, I try to figure out how I got here.  What prompted this feeling of despair rather mild or vengeful?  The result of my introspection left me feeling guilty, but also hopeful.  My own actions caused most of the distress so it is possible to change many of the things contributing to hopelessness. 

For instance, I tend to set goals for myself that are BHAGs.  It’s a term I learned years ago doing analysis work at IBM.  It stands for Big Hairy Audacious Goals.  The idea is to set your sights high (aim for the moon) and surely you will make progress.  It is actually a helpful tool to motivate large groups and keep minds expanding to capture the best possible solutions to a problem.  But for some of us, that can create a real sense of failure when we can’t meet those lofty aspirations. 

Currently, I am missing the mark in the disciplines of food and exercise.  I’m not confessing adding animal back into our diet or lavishly anointing my food with salt, oil or sugar (SOS).  I still maintain those restrictions as we have seen the tangible results of my husband’s improved heart health.  But I’m really slipping on cooking from scratch and protecting the time set aside for exercise each day. 

I’m also trying to guard my thoughts better by adding memorized prayers to our evening prayer time and adding a bit more diligence to memorizing scripture.  We have had what feels like a multitude of friends die recently and it has prompted me to start my morning devotions with an admonition from St. Benedict’s Tools for Good Works. “Day by day remind yourself that you are going to die.  Hour by hour keep careful watch over all you do, aware that God’s gaze is upon you, wherever you may be.”

Lastly, I’m recognizing that the city, neighborhood, school or job God has put us in has a purpose and the more we invest in each, the richer our life becomes.  Do you need to look around and see how you might lean into that situation that is causing you to feel stressed or hopeless and find a place to invest yourself?  It’s brought surprising results in my life.

It’s never too early to care for this amazing body we have been given, to live this gift of life to the fullest and prepare for the eternity that is before us.  It’s also, never too late to begin again.

“Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and stead.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:20&21 – ESV)

“No matter how old you are, it’s never too late or too early to start eating in a way that gives you the best possible chance of staving off dementia as you age and making sure that you feel fresh, sharp, and capable every day.”  (Uma Naidoo, MD – This Is Your Brain on Food)

“Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile.  Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (Jeremiah 29:7 – NIV)

Yours for a Joyful Journey,

Joyice