It's amazing how much our bodies will tell us if we take a moment to listen. We are uniquely connected to the universe around us, especially when it comes to our "spaces". I'm using "spaces" to represent both the concrete and ethereal worlds around us. Before you sign me off as having slid off my rocker, take a minute to think about your day. How is it like every other day? How is it different? What is a "regular" day, and what is a "good" day.
I was thinking about this on my way to work this morning. You see, I woke up around 7am, with the intent to do a couple loads of laundry, walk the lake, and go grocery shopping before I made it to work. For someone who has trouble getting up and getting ready in time to make it out of the door at a decent hour, this would truly be quite a feat. But, for whatever reason, it didn't feel like that today. Today, I felt like I could do it, as though I did it every day. And I did. Not only did I successfully wash and dry two loads of clothes, walk the 3+ mile lake in torrential downpour, buy four items from the grocery store to complete my breakfast and lunch, but I made it to work EARLIER than I did yesterday - if only it was by a few minutes. Did I wake up extremely early? No, only an hour earlier than I did yesterday - and it takes an hour (on average) to walk the lake on a good day. I don't have a washer and dryer in my apartment; it's in the next building over. So what was it???
I have no idea. The phenomena of it all drove me to recognize the power of our feelings. Nowadays, our culture thrives on how we feel. If you feel like doing something, do it. If you don't feel like it - you get the point. Do people still do things though they may not feel like doing them? Of course, but I believe there are fewer of these people in this day. For example, the America of the 1940s required men to enlist for the war. Women had to run households and sometimes maintain part-time jobs to supplement the devastating effects of the depression. Children were expected to be in school or, in very unfortunate cases, work in hazardous factories. These were the days when people did things because you had to, forget how you felt. Now, take for example, the non-profit org I work for. We offer youth ages 17-24 the opportunity to work for pay four days out of the week, while they complete coursework towards their high school diploma in the evenings two days a week and Friday mornings. I will admit that the work is extremely laborious. But the program targets people who could not work it out in the conventional school system for whatever reason - i.e. this is a choice, or a result of not-so-good choices. Still, people will not go to work or school, because they don't feel like it, extenuating circumstances much longer than they ever should.
What is it about us, about our culture that makes us different from our counterparts of yesteryear? How did we get this way? Will it propel us into further laziness and ineptitude, or is it for the greater good? Allowing us to "express" ourselves into the genius of the future? Which is better: the hope that people of the past worked for and had for us or the dreams we currently have for ourselves?
This Black History Month: ASSESS how you feel.
2 comments:
i think that while it is true that our laziness far exceeds that of earlier generations, its important to have the OPTION to be lazy, and to listen to your body when it says "just chill". this alone, along with advances in technology, is going to ensure that we don't expire early on like the earlier generations often did. btw, kudos for gettin up early and handlin' business cuz i'm still workin on finding the "feeling" that would get me to do that, lol.
call a girl if you need a lake-walking companion. i'm almost always down and i really need to be more productive in the mornings. i always save exercise for after work but then i just end up wanting to eat , sleep and be lazy. blah.
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