What have you been up to these first few weeks of the New Year?
Around the farm it's been all about re-establishing good routines; getting everyone packed up and out the door each morning on time..... getting back in the studio, regular (ok, semi-regular) meals and bed-times. The first few days were a doozy, but there is a comfort in returning to the 'norm.' We know what to expect and can anticipate and plan for the next step in our day, week, month, etc.
Is that why we get stuck? Because there is comfort in the known? Yes. It is the fear of stepping outside what we have come tothink ofas the 'norm' that keeps us from moving forward; out of dysfunction and into new and healthier routines. Because, how do we KNOW they will be healthier? Happier? More fulfilling? Less painful? We don't.
This is when we give it over to someone that does, and trust that He has instilled us with enough good sense and survival skills that we'll not only be OK, we will be better.
If you're in a routine that is painful, get out.
Years and years ago, when I had no money, I had a beautiful pair of shoes. They were lovely things; made my legs look like a million bucks and I got oodles of compliments on them. They were my favorite pair of heels - really my only pair of heels. Thing was, I got a blister every time I wore them.
I knew it was coming, the first jabs of pain, the blister, the days of gingerly-stepping afterword. But they LOOKED so good; I was loathe to give them up. I tried to convince myself each time I slipped my feet in that I had 'worn them in enough' that it would be different THIS TIME. I wouldn't get the blister, my shoes would love me as much as I loved them... and besides I couldn't afford to buy anything that was as nice.
But finally I realized that I couldn't keep doing the same thing and expecting different results. (You've all heard this before.) I put away the shoes. I bought cheaper heels, that fit my feet, did not cause pain or blisters, and still made my legs look like a million bucks!
I remembered my old shoes with a mixture of happiness and sadness, and finally I gave them away in a donation bag. I let them go.
Are you in a relationship with a pair of beautifully painful shoes? Or a spouse/significant other? A friend? A child? Does it appear perfect on the outside, but you know without question that it will cause chafing, blistering, pain?
Have you tried insoles, heel cushions, toe pads? And still, the blister?
For 2020, keep the healthy routines. Brush and floss. Drink water. Take your daily walk. Get plenty of rest.
Let the unhealthy routines go. It doesn't mean you and your shoes won't have the great memories you created together, it just means you won't keep waking up with blisters.