October carries a heavy load. Not only does it host ghosts and goblins, it has also been hallowed National Cyber Security Awareness Month, Rideshare Month, and perhaps others I am unaware of. In addition, the first week of the month contained the little-known celebration Rachel Freak Out Week.
Approximately everything stressed me out last week. Approximately everything included but was not limited to: a report for work, every time someone tried to talk to me when I thought I should be working on said report, every task that took time away from the report. Plus, because these lists breed like rabbits, all the usual suspects, such as my peculiar inability to clean things and my not yet having found the meaning of life.
Sometime midweek, a friend, we’ll call him John, and I were walking between meetings and met a coworker whose wife’s job is grant-dependent. The coworker, in good spirits, said an upcoming grant renewal deadline was “do or die,” and John said, surprisingly seriously, “No, it’s not.”
Both John’s wife and granddaughter faced and fought off cancer. Both have been in remission for a number of years now, but I’ve gotten the impression that these two illnesses changed his thinking about life in general and work in particular.
After this meeting, when I felt like keening over sections of the report, my mantra became, “It’s not worth it.” Unfortunately, the mantra did not lower my stress level, but it did help me realize it was optional. In the midst of my Chicken Little syndrome I could at least tell myself I had a choice, even if I was incapable of acting on that choice. Somehow knowing the stress was self-inflicted helped me retain a sheen of sanity.
We need a lot of reminders in this life—of what is and isn’t important, of what choices we do and don’t have. One way of interpreting those reminders is the now familiar, “Don’t sweat the small stuff, and it’s all small stuff.” But maybe some of it is breathtakingly precious stuff, too precious to obscure with anxiety.
Why didn’t you write this two weeks ago before my final days of moving???
See… you no longer have my “yin” to your “yang”….
Wow, Rachel – who drew that cartoon of you? That’s exactly what you looked like last week!
“breathtakingly precious stuff” is where I want to be. But yesterday afternoon when I had to vacuum the house I went into a fury of hatred at everything for no discernable reason. It was just as you said – I knew I had a choice but I couldn’t exercise it. Weird feeling. No like. Perhaps step two will be to choose differently – or at least remember to tap. Actually, I think I did think of tapping, but I didn’t want to. A very old feeling, that stubborness and anger. “I won’t budge and you can’t make me.” But it’s strange when it’s me that can’t make me.
And it’s Funny! Fabulous. How do you do that?
[…] strong point. Last week I finally stressed myself out to the point of getting sick (remember that report?). On the fifth day, I was well enough to despair over all the lost time and uncompleted tasks and […]