Tonight I needed to mop the floor and do other various cleany things around my house. I'll admit, I'm a staller. If I can find a reasonable reason not to clean, I'll probably do it. (Reasonable reasons include "I don't have enough time to clean what I REALLY want to clean so I might as well not do anything", "we're taking the dogs up to the mountains and they'll get the house dirty so we might as well wait until we get back", "I'll do it on Saturday when I have all day", "I'm tired", and "I don't feel like it".)
But tonight I couldn't think of anything else to do. I really needed to give my floor another smell other than it's current smell of "I have two dogs". I didn't want to clean. I wanted to be lazy. So I had to resort to the method my mature self uses to get my lazy, immature self to do anything: I gave myself a time limit. I said, "I'll just clean everything I can for 20 minutes and then I can stop." When I do this I usually end up cleaning for at least an hour. I know this fact when I give myself the time limit. I just need a jump start. I need an out in case after 20 minutes I'm still not in the mood to clean.
Tonight worked like most other nights. I ended up cleaning until I HAD to stop and go to a family thing (Family night where my favorite quote of the night was: Dad: "And who gives us the gift of the Holy Ghost?" Answer from the almost two-year old: "ME!")
Why do I need a time limit? I think it has something to do with the bad thing having an end. As I was cleaning, I started thinking about other things I "endure" because I know there's a time limit. Being alone. Pulling weeds. Parent/Teacher Conferences. Uncomfortable parties where I don't know anyone. Missing family members. Cars broken down on the freeway (I honestly tell myself "This will be over a week from now. Somehow this will have all been taken care of a week from now...")
Come to think of it, a lot of my happiness is based on the hope that all bad things will eventually go away. And that has it's base in faith and trust- good companions when you're going through a tough time. Somehow they can even help us feel happiness in the midst of the unhappiness.
11 years ago
3 comments:
I think we all do that to some extent. (By "all" I really mean "I do that, too, so surely EVERYone must do it).
We find a balance between using faith to hope for a better future, without basing happiness on events yet to come.
But here's to deadlines. My current endurance deadline is tomorrow afternoon. I'm happy now, but I'll be really happy then :o)
I definately do it. I always have to have something to look forward to or I feel like I'm simply just existing. Having something not so fun come to an end is definately something to look forward to.
My favorite time limit all summer long was "as soon as school starts". When school started my time limit was "once we're past the first month of school". Now I need a new time limit.
But I agree with you, knowing that "this, too, shall pass" makes life so much more worthwhile!
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