I had to leave work early Monday afternoon. I thought I could “tough it out,” but I had to throw in the towel hour and a half before quitting time. As I trudged through the sizzling parking lot, I felt sick, miserable, and defeated.
Honestly, the signs were there all day. Zack, my oldest parrot, kept staring and begging me to take him out, which is unusual for him in the mornings during those all-important stretching and preening sessions. This got the other 2 birds stirred up, culminating with Chaka screaming and Bubbles repeating saying “love you!” as I walked out of the door for work. As the day went on, I felt worse. Then I had to go out at lunch to return some library books, on the hottest day of summer so far (it was 101 degrees, with a heat index of 107), which resulted in me feeling worse, and by 3:30 I was done.
I should have listened to my parrots. Actually, I should have listened to my own body two weeks ago, when my sinuses started acting up and I had the brilliant idea to just change medications, since it was over the counter. I was busy. A lot has been going on behind the scenes at Broken Reality, and I didn’t have time to diddle around with antihistamines. Rick takes something different than I take, and I decided to try it. It seemed to work. Quick fix, right?
Wrong. It turns out that if your doctor told you to take it, then you should check with them if it doesn’t work as well anymore. Side effects and changing bodies. I know that now. Add to that the rising cortisol levels from this “heat done” that’s on its second week, and it’s no wonder I got overstimulated. The steamy, frying world out there just expanded two weeks of grind, stress, and everyday aggravations into intolerable chaos. And, I broke.
“The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” doesn’t just apply to spiritual matters, but all mind and body matters. Brains are wonderful things that run the whole body, but sometimes the body talks back and overrules it. You think you can press on with sheer will, but that only goes so far. We all have limits that we’d like to think we can control, but we can’t. Sometimes, the body says “no.” And you have no choice but to heed it.
It happens to us all. I learned this the next day when I returned to work (better but still a bit jumpy) to find two people out sick, and a third one going home under similar circumstances as mine after lunch. So, it wasn’t just me. On the one hand, I felt less alone, and less like a loser for failing myself. On the other, I hated that other people felt this way because it’s miserable.
But I’m not a loser for my body overruling me. Sure, I should have known better than to change my sinus medicine, and I own that. I made a mistake. I’m human. We all do. Even King Solomon made mistakes, and he was the wisest man who ever lived. Obviously, this is part of the human condition. And apparently, the person who needs to know it the most is – me.
When your body overrules your mind, take heart: it’s a normal and natural thing. Just drop out and take care of yourself. I know that’s hard, because we Generation X’ers were raised to “tough it out” and “press on” so we can be tougher than a tough world. Well congratulations, we are, but sometimes the world gets the best of us. We aren’t invincible. We need to learn how to relax, to listen to our bodies and minds, and to rest. That’s not lazy or bad. Sometimes, it’s necessary.
I do feel better now, and I realize something else that’s very important: these repeated heat domes are why southerners are so into fall and pumpkin spice everything. It isn’t seasonal insanity. It’s relief!
That’s all today. Take care, and have a great day.
Bye!
Honestly, the signs were there all day. Zack, my oldest parrot, kept staring and begging me to take him out, which is unusual for him in the mornings during those all-important stretching and preening sessions. This got the other 2 birds stirred up, culminating with Chaka screaming and Bubbles repeating saying “love you!” as I walked out of the door for work. As the day went on, I felt worse. Then I had to go out at lunch to return some library books, on the hottest day of summer so far (it was 101 degrees, with a heat index of 107), which resulted in me feeling worse, and by 3:30 I was done.
I should have listened to my parrots. Actually, I should have listened to my own body two weeks ago, when my sinuses started acting up and I had the brilliant idea to just change medications, since it was over the counter. I was busy. A lot has been going on behind the scenes at Broken Reality, and I didn’t have time to diddle around with antihistamines. Rick takes something different than I take, and I decided to try it. It seemed to work. Quick fix, right?
Wrong. It turns out that if your doctor told you to take it, then you should check with them if it doesn’t work as well anymore. Side effects and changing bodies. I know that now. Add to that the rising cortisol levels from this “heat done” that’s on its second week, and it’s no wonder I got overstimulated. The steamy, frying world out there just expanded two weeks of grind, stress, and everyday aggravations into intolerable chaos. And, I broke.
“The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” doesn’t just apply to spiritual matters, but all mind and body matters. Brains are wonderful things that run the whole body, but sometimes the body talks back and overrules it. You think you can press on with sheer will, but that only goes so far. We all have limits that we’d like to think we can control, but we can’t. Sometimes, the body says “no.” And you have no choice but to heed it.
It happens to us all. I learned this the next day when I returned to work (better but still a bit jumpy) to find two people out sick, and a third one going home under similar circumstances as mine after lunch. So, it wasn’t just me. On the one hand, I felt less alone, and less like a loser for failing myself. On the other, I hated that other people felt this way because it’s miserable.
But I’m not a loser for my body overruling me. Sure, I should have known better than to change my sinus medicine, and I own that. I made a mistake. I’m human. We all do. Even King Solomon made mistakes, and he was the wisest man who ever lived. Obviously, this is part of the human condition. And apparently, the person who needs to know it the most is – me.
When your body overrules your mind, take heart: it’s a normal and natural thing. Just drop out and take care of yourself. I know that’s hard, because we Generation X’ers were raised to “tough it out” and “press on” so we can be tougher than a tough world. Well congratulations, we are, but sometimes the world gets the best of us. We aren’t invincible. We need to learn how to relax, to listen to our bodies and minds, and to rest. That’s not lazy or bad. Sometimes, it’s necessary.
I do feel better now, and I realize something else that’s very important: these repeated heat domes are why southerners are so into fall and pumpkin spice everything. It isn’t seasonal insanity. It’s relief!
That’s all today. Take care, and have a great day.
Bye!
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