Today I have a new hot water heater. A new kitchen faucet and tap set was installed, too -- a good one to replace the cheap one <smile> and no more incessant dripping. It seems the hot water heater had rusted on the underside and was likely to burst anytime soon. That the element blew before this occurred can be termed a very good thing. Having a new faucet with a lever water control instead of little taps is delightful! Things like this help me find positives in the days -- small things that may have been overlooked a few short months ago. The plumber and landlord each wore masks when working and walking upstairs.and even had disinfectant wipes to clean after the work -- other actions with large impacts. A warm shower this evening was a delight. Two days washing from the sink completed! Meteorologists forecast that there will be a brief cooling trend before the next heat wave descends. This, too, is a good thing -- well the cooling trend, at least. <smile> I'm liking this trend.
Having one positive in a day can help manage the less good things that arrive daily and add to the heavier burden we carry at present. Lately I've felt deeper in the liminal space that arrived March 11. Hope -- since certainty is impossible -- has helped me feel that I'd found a smoother path through the untrodden terrain. Unlike the fire swamp, we don't know what dangers lie on our journey through this space -- at least Westley and Buttercup knew of the lightening sand, flame eruptions and ROUS. <grin>. Sadly, we have to encounter things to be able to communicate to others what to expect. As with any communication, the messages get garbled or outright rejected due to personal experience and beliefs. The bizarre things encountered are unbelievable, which opens the door to cognitive dissonance and the refusal to accept some truths as such. Personally, when I think I have a plan to traverse this unknown territory and something new pops up, my hope is quashed briefly and sadness, anger or fear take over. I work to regain some footing that can be somewhere along the continuum of easy to excessively complex. That depends on many factors only some of which I can control (very few actually). While it may be that all of life is a liminal space as we transit from one point to the next through uncharted lands, the path we wander will have smooth and rough areas. When thinking of the process of being knocked on my butt and desperately (sometimes) trying to find a sliver of hope made me realize that this fits within the definition of resiliency -- a key component of health and wellness. Interesting-- I hadn't thought of it as anything beyond distress; yet this included a problem solving approach. Hmmm -- another learning only achieved through reflective (and reflexive) thinking. More pondering will occur with this one, I'm certain.
Thinking through this current journey left me with the idea that it is all about how I react to the barriers thrust into my path. To this point life has had ups and downs, as expected. Many current events are unclear so all feel like downs. They may not be, if we examine them a bit more closely. Nothing is ever a dichotomy -- at least in my postmodern world <smile>. Often events are both and everything in between the two anchor points. So, if I look for the positive in anything I encounter, I may find that glimmer of hope hiding where I least expect it to be. A song that alludes to some of this journey and personal reactions is shared here today. Stay safe. Enjoy!
Shambala -- Three Dog Night
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