Irritated by the Rub

Rumi said this:  'If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?'

I heard that one day and thought about it.  Long and hard.  I've had a mosquito bite that just won't let me have peace. I've also had those itches that no matter how long and hard and wide you scratch, they refused to be sated.  I've also polished nails, rocks, pottery and sanded wood.  All of these experiences swirled around in my mind as I heard this statement.  
Is it my intention to be comfortable or to be better?  That was a difficult question to come face to face with.  Sometimes, if I'm honest with myself, I don't WANT to be rubbed!  I don't want to go to the gym, I don't want to have difficult experiences, and I don't WANT to have to have my patience tried in order to gain more of it.  However . . . I've also learned that usually, there is no other way.  

Wanting is tricky business.  It comes down ultimately, to what I want MOST.  Do I really want that sculpted gorgeous body of a model, or do I really just want to live my life easily, do the minimum to be healthy, and have more time to do other things I want more?  

In the end, it really is about what you want most.  You'll get it. So, if you aren't 'getting' what you think you want, look at where you endure rubbing the most.  You'll find your answer as to where your heart truly is. 

So. . . what do you really want? 
 Photo by Alma Rubel.

Comments

Post a Comment

Comments are always welcome, writers love to hear readers ideas too.

Popular posts from this blog

Reconsiderations and Ministrations

Image
As I said, life gets crazy.  But only when we allow it to.  What will I allow in my life?  I've often said that I think best when I'm on my feet putting out metaphorical fires.  Perhaps it i s the adrenalin, or just the deadline, other or self-appointed.  At any rate, if there is not a certain moment that 'finished' must be cleanly mentally stamped on a project (finished or not), I tend to move it to the "good" column rather than the "best" one.  One of the good things, is this blog.  I began it believing that I wanted to use my life-coaching tools to help others with pitfalls and problems that I'd already slipped into and found a life-like out of.  I was attempting professionalism, a step-back intimacy and the added burden of editing and reediting content and language.  This left me with a distaste (I'm not an editor) for evening beginning the next idea, because it would take much more time out of my priority box than I had allotted.  So
Read more

Fluid time; static time and flow.

Image
Time is a fluid thing.  It washes through our cupped palm like water.  No matter how we try to hold on to it, it still escapes us a drop at a time.  Yet. . . it also sticks like pulled taffy, lengthening when we most want it to snap and sticking greedily to precision when we wish it would last. I just read one of my favorite author, Mitch Albom's, "The TimeKeeper".  This very principle was keenly expressed through the vivid tale of Father Time himself.  I doubt I'll ever look at my own hourglass in the same way. I remember when I was a child, I dreampt that I could stop the world for just one night.  What could I do to make a difference?  I was fast asleep, but I remember the dream as if it was a Hollywood Academy Award winner with sets, scenery, costumes and special effects that weren't even in existence in the 60's.  (I'm dating myself aren't I?)  I remember the longing I felt when I realized that I had the power to do anything, change any life,
Read more

Just Believe

Image
I would be remiss if I didn't write just a little about the most beautiful holiday seasons.  For some, they are joy-filled, exciting, perfect.  For many others, too many, they are stress-filled, over-taxed and sometimes very lonely. Much of the season is created by our circumstances.  When I was happily married with little ones, it was stress-ful, certainly, but it was full of joy and anticipation and fun.  Then when that family splintered, I was left with the feeling that I had to 'do it all'.  See every Christmas show, participate in every bit of music, over-spend and over-do to make up for the 'brokenness' that was now to be our 'new normal'. Then the next year, I fell into apathy.  Painful, painless apathy.  I just didn't care.  The tree was purchased, but never decorated until Christmas Eve.  The bare minimums were the rule as it was 'his year' for the children.  It was lonely and sad, but there were still moments of joy.  Even then.
Read more