I have been doing a lot of reviews lately for other authors, hoping to get some kind of reciprocation. So far, not too much has come my way. But I believe everything happens for a reason and most times good things happen to those who wait. Because I have been so busy reading, I haven't been writing. So this is a re-post from a few months ago. I hope you enjoy it.
In my book, "Sensitivity 101 for the Heterosexual Male...Lessons Learned from the Fairer Sex" I tell you about my "Happy Place" and how I found it after listening to my first girlfriend as we discussed some anxious moments that I encountered. She told me to close my eyes and picture the one place I always felt safe and comfortable at. It's been a long time since I visited that location...but had a chance last week to re-explore it.
I had just returned from a week long business trip and was dreading the work week coming up. My days are full of e-mails, phone calls, and social media (both work and personal). I sometimes long for the days before "technology"...the days when you could actually get lost and no one could find you. Long before answering machines, pagers, cell phones and e-mails life seemed so much simpler and much easier to live.
On Sunday morning I couldn't wake up...my throat was sore, my head was pounding, and I was way too congested. I knew I was sick and that it would only get worse with time. I used all the energy I could muster and went to my computer...I sent a quick e-mail to my work team saying that I was going to be out for a few days and that they would need to find other means of help if they needed it. Then I went to my facebook page and stated that I wasn't going to post for a few days. Finally, I did the impossible...I turned off my cell phone.
For the next few days, I couldn't get out of bed. I slept, I tossed and turned, and I found myself alternating between being way too hot and way too cold. I thought I was miserable.
On Thursday I felt better, but still not well enough to get out of bed. I lay on my bed looking for a sign that all would be better. That's when I fell asleep and ended up back at my "Happy Place." I "awoke" and felt the bright sunshine beating down on my face. The aromas from my past--hamburgers being grilled on an open campfire, the smell of freshly cut green grass, and the lingering scent coming from the seaweed that had washed upon the beach over night--all were present. I knew I was in Wisconsin at my great-grandparent's cottage which meant so much to me as I grew up. After what seemed to me like being there forever, just taking in the view of the lake from the hillside I was laying on, I suddenly awoke for real. I was in my own bed, but was feeling much better.
The next day I woke up bright and early feeling totally refreshed...but I wasn't done yet. I dreaded turning on my cell phone and listening to all the recorded voicemails. I could not believe that after 5 days there were no voicemails at all. I did have one text message from a phone number that I didn't recognize. It said, "Hope you feel better soon...we all need rest sometime." When I tried to call the number, it was disconnected.
Next, I turned on my computer to await the hundreds of e-mails that I assumed were awaiting my return from the dead. On my work system, which normally handled over 100 e-mails a day, I was surprised to say the least when there were only 12 e-mails. No one besides my team knew I was sick...and in fact all eight of my team members sent me the same message..."Relax, you have trained us well...we'll take care of everything."
I wondered what was happening...could this be a hidden sign for me to understand?
As I clicked onto my personal e-mail, again I was surprised when only 20 e-mails showed up (many days I get well over 20 spam e-mails a day alone.) I clicked on some of the "important" ones and found out that there were no important ones at all. I was dumbfounded, but not as confused as I was about to become. The last e-mail bore the name of a person I did not know, but I felt compelled to open it. When I did, I read "Hope you feel better soon...we all need rest sometime." I attempted to reply to this e-mail, but was a little disappointed when I got a quick return saying that the e-mail address did not exist and could not be delivered.
I went to my facebook page to see many of my friends leaving me notes of encouragement and the hopes that my sickness would disappear quickly.
I went back to my bed to ponder what all this meant. This is what I came up...tell me your opinions of it, please!
In this world that moves way too fast sometimes, one where people feel much more important than they really are, and the feeling of not having anytime alone to themselves anymore, I was able to find out that all this is false. The world DOES move fast, but you control just how fast. I am no more important than anyone else in this world, and there is always time to go to your "Happy Place" if you make the effort.
I say in my book that God works in miraculous ways...and I believe this was His way of saying to me "Slow down and relax..." I don't know if God knows how to text message, or how to send e-mails, or can control how much others need you from time to time, but I do know He cares for all of us...and sometimes interacts with you to allow you to make the best of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment