Oxygen

When was the last time you said, Wait a minute. I need to have a moment to myself? Hardly ever? That's me, too. It is not that I don't need it.  I just seldom believe that I have the time to do it.  Everyday has a punch list, a series of "have to's or must do's" that need to be satisfied by the end of the day or.... Or what? What will happen?  Will worlds collide? Will the sky fall in? Will the sun go black?

We are all busy. We have schedules and meetings and play dates, etc. and that doesn't count the things around the house that need attention; including the people we love.  We have our own personal Honey Do Top Ten, but I can tell you that if we do not put ourselves on that list, all the work and rushing around will be for nothing. I have found that if I don't take time for myself,  to say a prayer, to rest my bones, to clear my head -   I become a fatigued, frustated, mess; no good for myself or anyone else.

I was talking about this with a friend  who is a flight attendant.  We were going back and forth concerning our lives,  wondering why it is so hard to put the breaks on when we need to and she  said it was like the oxygen announcement that she makes at the beginning of a flight.   You have heard it before - the flight attendants tell you what to do if the cabin loses pressure, how the oxygen masks will fall from the panel above your seat and that "... If you are traveling with children, or are seated next to someone who needs assistance, place the mask on yourself first, then assist the others." What?   Heck no!  We are putting those  oxygen masks on EVERYONE on that plane before ourselves, ignoring the common sense in the warning, ignoring the alarms, and dismissing the oncoming dizziness because  we are INVINCIBLE!   We will be ok.  We can wait.  We can handle it.  We can........(unconscious).    You can't help laughing when you think of it that way.  It sounds ridiculous, because it is.

Here's the thing:  Everyone says that they would die, lose a limb, or take a bullet for the people they love.  Sounds noble, right?  Just as fearless, though, is the person who is willing to live for the ones they love, to lose a line item off the list, to take a break.  All the good that we want to do and everything we hope to accomplish will fall short if we neglect ourselves - physically and mentally.  You can not share what you do not have so before you rush off today to complete the next big thing or person on your list...

      Be still and rejuvenate.  

    Stop and read a devotion. 

             Rest your mind.

             Smell a flower.  
               Call a friend. 

           Refresh yourself.  

                                                      

                     Breathe.