This is a drive by blogging because I have too much bouncing around my brain to leave it there. LOL!
I've had a few moments of reading something a hundred times, then the 101th time I read it, thought "OH! /That's/ what it means!" moment? Obviously it's because I'm at a point where I need to read/hear it, and since I"m so into sharing, I thought others may be at a similar place and benfit from hearing it as well.
"To take the first step in faith, you don't have to see the whole staircase: just take the first step." Martin Luther King, Jr.
Most times I saw this, I focused on the last part: just take the first step. Stop procrastiating, start to channel your inner Nike ad and Just DO IT!
Then I picked up on that middle bit: You don't have to see the whole staircase.
You see, I'm a fact finder. When I embark on something new or different, I gather all the info (to the point of overload usually) and either I get fed up, frustrated, or fired up and plow through. I usually get stuck in the 'what if' cycle and fixate on silly, nit-picky details that really don't mean a lot in the grander scheme of things.
Basically, I not only had to /see/ the whole staircase, but I had to see the plans, build it, inspect every inch and walk it a few times before I'd be willing to test the first step.
To use another metaphor: Horse - snoozin' in the barn. Cart - down at market all unloaded.
Where does it get me? Absolutley nowhere. I get wrapped up in the perfectionist, all or nothing thinking that leaves me _looking_ like I'm doing something, but really, the wheels are just spinning and I'm getting burned out.
Solution: Make a decision, get a little bit of info to get you started, and take that first step. Then get a little more info and take the next one. Have faith that you'll have the resources and support you need, when you need it, down the road. In the mean time, stop using the details as an excuse to not get started.
"Love Your Neighbor As Yourself"
This one has been niggling at my brain for a while. The husband & I recently found a church that we now call home and the pastor always has an amazing message to deliver. He's used this phrase a few times and I started to get the full impact of it.
I was going to put the specific book/verse only to find out that there are at least/ 8 times it's used in the bible spefically in that form. ( www.believers.org/believe/bel208.htm has references to the verses plus a few more in one handy dandy place) And not to mention all the similar type phrases that are sprinkled throughout it. I think this is a phrase that we've all heard, regardless if you're a Sunday school graduate or not.
We all get the first part: Love your neighbor. Similar to the "do unto others" message, be nice to other people.
But what about that last bit? As YOURSELF.
Think about it for a second: The message isn't to love others/treat others BETTER than yourself. Nope. It's all about putting yourself on the SAME level as those around you.
How many women put themselves on the way bottom of the priority list? (that is, if they've even made it on the list in the first place.) How many times have you gushed and loaded compliments on a total stranger or your best friend, only to say something hurtful to yourself in public or the privacy of your own brain?
I know I'm guilty of it.
The Ah-ha! of it is this: If you don't love and respect yourself & treat yourself well, how can you give another the love and respect they deserve?
Taking care of yourself the same as you take care of others isn't selfish. It's survival.
Eating well, moving your body, getting rest, laughing and speaking kindly to yourself are the recipe to keeping your internal batteries charged so you /can/ be a good friend, sister/brother, wife/husband, mother/father.
You (yes, YOU!) are an amazing person! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise - including yourself.
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