Routine

In the last few weeks, I’ve noticed a growing sense of uneasiness and anxiety rising up within me.  I’ve been having trouble sleeping, I’m feeling exhausted much of the time, and I’m finding it difficult to concentrate on my everyday activities.  This past weekend, I became convinced that my thyroid medication must be wrong and that this must be the cause of my feeling of un-wellness.  I vowed to call my family physician on Monday morning and ask her to adjust my dosage.

Interestingly, once I came to the conclusion that my problem was physical, I started to feel even worse – more tired, more anxious, more unsettled, and more eager to speak to my doctor.  And then yesterday - by the grace of God, I believe - I had a different thought.  In the space between my exhaustion and my anxiety, an inspired idea jumped into my head – “your stress does not have a physical cause, your stress is related to your change in routine.”

Every once in a while I am gifted by a thought that clearly comes from a higher place within myself.  Usually it comes when I am not expecting it.  Always it is crystal clear and brings with it an immediate sense of relief.  I am thankful for those moments when I am receptive enough to get Spirit’s message.  This was one of those times.

My children finished school on June 16^th.  As always, I had been looking toward the summer with an increasing feeling of dread.  Unlike many people, I hate the long, unstructured days of summer.  I’m the type of person who functions best when comfortably busy, who likes to work within a routine, and who re-energizes with times of quiet solitude.  Compared to the rest of the year, summer feels very chaotic and unpredictable and noisy to me.  I much prefer the other seasons.  I think this has to do with having three school-age children!   

Anyway, after I realized that the cause of my symptoms was rooted in my feelings about my circumstances, another inspired thought came to me.  I remembered an exercise we did at the Unity Eastern Region Conference last fall.  The keynote speaker was a life coach who offered many strategies for bringing my life into alignment with my personal values, vision, and mission.  One of the tips she shared was a simple weekly calendar grid which allows me to map out the hours and days of my week and to schedule time for the things that are most important to me.  The calendar I made for the school year was incredibly helpful and brought a new level of clarity to my everyday activities.  I decided to create a weekly grid for the summer.

Now that I’ve mapped out my weekly schedule and I can see how my days might look and how I might have time to do the things I value and still have time for family fun this season, my anxiety level has diminished substantially.   Thank you, God, for inspired ideas.  Thank you, Jackie Woodside, for practical organizational tools.  I’m actually kind of looking forward to the rest of the summer.  

Time to get a good night’s sleep for a change.  

~REBECCA