Yesterday was BRUTAL - lots of work, lots to do, and very cold. Taught Friday morning, as always, and one of my students asked me a question that has stuck with me since. Kelly was being snarky (poor thing is visibly and somewhat miserably pregnant and can't help herself at times).
She rapped out in the middle of one of my monologues on applications of temperature and heat phenomena to ask - 'What HAVEN'T you done before?'
I heard the collective gasp from the rest of the class - she wasn't meaning it in a good way. Kelly thinks I'm a know-it-all and has no problem letting me know it. So, I am - in certain subject areas, anyway - and I AM getting paid to teach her physics whether she wants to learn it or not.
But as I started to get defensive to keep from getting angry, I paused a second to think - then I replied, 'There are lots of things I haven't done - yet. But I surely plan to!' - and moved on to latent heats of fusion and vaporization. Exciting stuff. She was quiet for about 30 minutes before the next outburst - a new record.
But I've been thinking about that question ever since - we should all be asking ourselves, 'what haven't I done yet?', every morning of every day. And I'm not talking about the housework, the dishes, the taxes, or the laundry, or the stack of exams I have to grade today. I am asking myself, and now I am asking you, what haven't you done already, that's on the list of things you are holding for 'someday', for 'when I retire', for 'when I have more money/time/status'. for 'when I have less to do, less stress, my children are grown, for the slow season at work', etc? Something that YOU - or I - decide deliberately to do, because it's what we want to do at that time.
Whether you're like me, one week from broke on a public college salary and trying to work a home business, or even if you're rich as King Croesus, I'm sure there are things that you want to do that you're putting off for a better time, for 'someday'. Putting off because the kids need you, your spouse needs you, your parents are old, your car needs repair - a million different reasons.
Why should you not do things just because you want to? This assumes you follow the following rule: FIRST, DO NO HARM. That caveat considered, why not do things that make your heart sing - things that might make you wild with joy, happy and eager to get started; things that stay with you and give you a lift through the rest of the day - things that bring some bright light into your life?
Why are we denying ourselves even a bit of that joy?
How about hugs, for example? How about walks in the woods or down the street - 10 minutes to clear your head and breathe new air? Toss a stone in the water, toss a frisbie, How about taking a week a year to bike across the continental divide in meditation, for your holiday season gift to your psyche? I've got a friend that does something like this every year at Christmas - kisses his wife and kids goodbye, loads up his all-terrain bike in his truck, and heads out to the mountains. Think about something you can do - with your family, or alone, and DO it. Block out the time, and enjoy: guilt-free.
I've got a cuddle-bear dog - he stands on his hind legs, puts his front paws around my waist, throws his head back to rest his throat on my chest, closes his eyes and goes 'hmmmm', or as close to it as is possible for a canine to get. I can't help but hug him back. It's really cute, and I'm a firm believer in the old adage that hugs are the spice of life, even the ones from my dog. He hugs me, and tries to hug my mother, he hugs my nieces, my nephews, my brother, and a select few of my friends - he furrows his brow and looks inscrutable and wise, wags his tail and smiles by pulling his doggie lips tight over his fangs, and keeps us all young.
Who does that for you? Think about that one, and I'll be back tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment