Slippery Places
Today I am grateful for the local writing group I attended last evening and all of the honest sharing, via writing, that was done by those in attendance. I am also grateful for the lessons learned from slippery places.
Slippery places. Avoid when possible. Be careful at all times when near one. Like yesterday morning when I was walking Oliver. It had turned markedly colder and there were icy spots. (Yes, we love Minnesota. Sixties on Sunday, ice on Tuesday morning.) I was being careful and concentrating on safe places to step. As I neared our house on the return trip, I slacked off on my concentration and paid for it with a fall. Luckily, I don't seem to be any worse for wear other than a couple of bruises.
I was reminded of my fall on this past December 1, after completing the Seattle Marathon. It left me with bruised or cracked ribs, muscle pain and a slowed and limited range of movement for several weeks. It took six weeks to feel back to 100%. How important mobility is. How careful we need to be to protect it. How quickly a fall can change everything in a person's life.
But when I think of slippery places, I also think of a saying sometimes heard among recovering alcoholics: "If you don't want to slip, don't go where it's slippery." Around alcohol. Bars. Liquor stores. Certain people. Certain places. All can be slippery places for alcoholics. But my most slippery place is right here between my ears. When I am overthinking and working too hard to control the world instead of just focusing on my own attitude and actions, things can get real slippery. Having a drink isn't the first thing that crosses my mind then, but left unfettered, such thinking could surely lead to a drink. It was the only way I used to know how to shut my mind up.
Thankfully, today I have many techniques and strategies to help me avoid the slippery corners of my mind. Gratitude practice and this blog are highly effective strategies in my repertoire, as are staying mindful and present in this day. They actually feed off of each other, just like self-pity and fear used to in my slippery thinking days. But this type of feeding is nurturing me, rather than consuming the best parts of me like the drinking did.
What are your slippery places? How do you stay on stable and reliable ground, literally and figuratively?
Slippery places. Avoid when possible. Be careful at all times when near one. Like yesterday morning when I was walking Oliver. It had turned markedly colder and there were icy spots. (Yes, we love Minnesota. Sixties on Sunday, ice on Tuesday morning.) I was being careful and concentrating on safe places to step. As I neared our house on the return trip, I slacked off on my concentration and paid for it with a fall. Luckily, I don't seem to be any worse for wear other than a couple of bruises.
I was reminded of my fall on this past December 1, after completing the Seattle Marathon. It left me with bruised or cracked ribs, muscle pain and a slowed and limited range of movement for several weeks. It took six weeks to feel back to 100%. How important mobility is. How careful we need to be to protect it. How quickly a fall can change everything in a person's life.
But when I think of slippery places, I also think of a saying sometimes heard among recovering alcoholics: "If you don't want to slip, don't go where it's slippery." Around alcohol. Bars. Liquor stores. Certain people. Certain places. All can be slippery places for alcoholics. But my most slippery place is right here between my ears. When I am overthinking and working too hard to control the world instead of just focusing on my own attitude and actions, things can get real slippery. Having a drink isn't the first thing that crosses my mind then, but left unfettered, such thinking could surely lead to a drink. It was the only way I used to know how to shut my mind up.
Thankfully, today I have many techniques and strategies to help me avoid the slippery corners of my mind. Gratitude practice and this blog are highly effective strategies in my repertoire, as are staying mindful and present in this day. They actually feed off of each other, just like self-pity and fear used to in my slippery thinking days. But this type of feeding is nurturing me, rather than consuming the best parts of me like the drinking did.
What are your slippery places? How do you stay on stable and reliable ground, literally and figuratively?
Dearest Step Mother,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Emily, Sam and I are so lucky to have such a wonderful influence in our lives!
I really like that quote " If you don't want to slip, don't go where it is slippery." I think that applies to every temptation that we, as humans, go through on a day to day basis. Alyssa and I are keeping you in our thoughts everyday, stay strong and feel free to give us a jingle whenever!
Thank you Arthur! Nice to hear from you here. I agree; we all have slippery places in our lives and can help ourselves and one another by striving for a healthy balance. You two are in my thoughts and prayers too, and on my gratitude list. :-)
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