Friday, March 28

Getting Oriented 3/28/14

This was my week. Using healthy principles to guide me to the harbor
 of serenity and sanity, and away from the rocks of despair and resentment. 
     Good evening.  I'm tired.  This week took me places where I haven't been, emotionally, mentally, even spiritually, in twelve years.  All good, I think, even though it has been rocky.

     Tonight was different, the second time I drove my car, after a twenty-six day
pause.  This, after not using my car for two years.  I retrieved it from the shop, taking twenty mile trek home.  It was like......getting back on a bike.  No sweat, even though I navigated congested traffic on Highway 80 between Gilman and Ikea.

     Janush, a sixty-nine year old mechanic---the former Israeli officer in charge of the raid on Entebbe, in Uganda, a former friend of Moshe Dayan---was a miracle man.  He did the impossible.  There were difficulties passing the smog test, a result of my car sitting for two years.  His resourcefulness, going against the advice of the smog technicians, worked. Ya ay!  (He inserted new fuel injectors, along with a new catalytic converter.)

     On my way home from the repair shop, I got groceries.  Before, it was what could be placed on my steel steed.  No longer.  I rejoined the 21st Century.  However, I'm not certain this is progress.

******

     Recently, I was sucker punched---emotionally.  This motivated the recent post about disappointment.  No fun, disorienting it was.  However, it provided insights into my character.  Still, getting blindsided is never pleasant.  Ever.

The Giant Dipper. I ridden this since a kid.
     Experiencing jolting shifts in reality, made me queasier than riding the Giant Dipper in Santa Cruz.  The past six days I held on to the bracing pole of sanity.  Seeing things as they are, not how I want them.  The seatbelt of healthy principles prevented me from being thrown out on to the pavement of despair.  Yes, really, it has been that wild of a ride.

     It is easy being a "sunshine" nice guy.  Happy, when everything is moving smoothly, when there are no bumps of unpleasant truths.  But I see my true, unvarnished self when times are rough, when jostled by disorienting facts that make me feel crazy.

     I will finish post later.  I'm wiped out, needing sleep.

      Wishing you a great and grateful weekend!

1 comment:

Carl H said...

Dear Innkeeper,

Thank you for the dazzling sailing ship photograph, as both striking and fitting analogy for your week. I'm glad you were not thrown off the roller coaster of life, and hope you finally anchor in a safe harbor, and on a high note, by weeks end.

On this dark, gray and rainy Saturday night, I am grateful...

1. Once again for the heavenly rain we so desperately need here in drought-stricken California.

2. For a slow-moving morning of recovering from this work-weeks intensity.

3. For sharing a lunchtime meal with my 90 year old mom.

4. For finding one of the only remaining, available shopping carts outside her Safeway store, WITH a black, plastic coffee cup holder for my in-store Starbucks. What a surprising treat! (We coffee drinking grocery shoppers get excited over the little things!)

4. For some joyful fellowship my wife and I shared with eight friends (at our own table...) at the monthly Al-Anon Pot-Luck Dinner, that my wife had three winning raffle tickets, and for one engaging and relevant speaker, and Forrest Gump.

5. Seeing daily progress (not perfection) in the healing and recovery of two of our four sons.

Quotes from the Posts

"I'm mindful that our thoughts affect the words we use, our words influence our actions, our actions shape our character and our character determines our destiny."

From "My Character Determines My Destiny." To read it, please click here.

"Progress not perfection, is better than no progress at all, especially when we're trying to rid ourselves from unwelcome dragons that dwell within the closets of our soul."

From, "Still Learning" which, within four days, became the most popular post
written. To read it, please click here.

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its trouble, but it does empty today of its strength"
From the post: "Life Is Not a Correspondence Program." Click here to read it.

"Even though we cannot control our circumstances, we can control how we choose to respond to them."

From, "Handling Stress and Dealing With an Emotional Bully."Click here to read this post.

"Nope, being busy isn't exciting. Boring is good. Because boring is not boring; boring is being healthy, living a balanced life that has serenity"

From: "Do You Know What It Means If You Are Too Busy?" For more, please click here.

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