Helloooooo!!
I’m back in the rounge again. Lots of naked legs around me, poking out from between the folds of their Yukatas.
The HUGE TV at the front of the room is showing what I first thought was a second-rate imitation of Jurassic Park. However, having just caught a glimpse of the face of the main character, I realise that I was right, it is Jurassic Park – part 56. A dinosaur using a mobile phone? You have to be kidding! And hang on, why is this dinosaur that just smashed through a 4-metre high triple-reinforced dinosaur-proof fence now having problems getting into a wooden barn? And why are these Americans speaking Japanese? Surely, in such a stressful situation the last thing they’d be thinking about is practicing what they learned during last Monday night’s Japanese language course.
Yesterday I was on a real downer. It wasn’t just yesterday though, it’s been coming for a week or two. I was starting to get into that space where all I want to do is watch films, try and lose myself in other people’s tragedies. Whilst films arewonderful, when it reaches the stage that one wants to watch a video every day, I believe one needs to take a step back and think why it is that one would rather live the lives of others rather than one’s own.
Luckily, I have with me Susan Jeffers’ classic, “Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway”, and this evening have devoured over half of it.
It is tremendously empowering, and contains some great quotes.
“Ships in harbor are safe – but that’s not what ships are built for.”
– John Shedd“The best way out is always through”
– Helen Keller“Not a shred of evidence exists that life is serious!”
– Jan Marshall
I particularly like that final one. Brings it all back into perspective.
I think that we all have down times and they will last for awhile sometimes and pass quickly at others. I’ve never been big on sayings though as they seem to offer pat answers to complex problems.
For instance, while ships aren’t meant to be safely docked in harbors, it’s sometimes better to keep them there if there’s a big hole in the bottom that needs repaired. In fact, sometimes the important challenge to deal with in order to grow is repairing the hole, not going out to sea and seeking adventure.
Life is pretty hard somethings and sometimes you need to spend some time resting, vegetating and regrouping before you can make your way through. There’s only a problem if you spend all your time in the harbor. There’s nothing wrong with spending some time there when you need to.