S T R E S S E D to the MAX!
This plant is SO stressed –
it needs some water in the worst way –
when I saw it, I thought it was not going to make it . . .
perhaps it was too stressed to survive and
it was my fault –
I did not remember to water it,
to give it the one thing that was vital to its life . . .

I could see the effects of that stress –
the wilted leaves,
the drooping limbs,
the way it was slowly falling down
into the dirt never to rise again . . .

I thought about the song the Eagles had sung
back in the 1970s “Take It to the Limit” and
I told this plant that I would give it some water and
I hoped we could take it to the limit, one more time . . .
and make it beyond that limit, to restore Life!

SO many things can cause stress and that can lead to
my being OVERWHELMINGLY stressed and feeling like
I just cannot make it one more day, BUT . . .

WHAT CAN I DO to bring some of that Life-giving,
Life-saving water into my dry, stressed out heart-mind
when I am feeling like I am falling down into the dirt???

FIRST—STOP thinking all those thoughts of defeat
and giving up, they seem to just keep coming –
as each one pops up, I will tell it to go away,
every time it pops up “go away”

SECOND—REMEMBER other times I have made it
through some really rough times and challenges
I thought would end me and yet, here I am right now

THIRD—PLAY that music that always gets me singing
along even though I really do not want to play it because
I kind of want to hold onto this bad feeling
(it takes no effort to remain down and
I fight against the music I know would
touch my heart-mind and draw me upward)

FOURTH—REACH OUT when I can,
even if it is just to talk to a friend
about nothing related to my stress
to remind me that my world is bigger than me
and there are those who care about me

FIFTH—LIST some things I enjoy,
like a Starbucks Chai Latte with Cinnamon Dolce,
a visit to Gin Creek to watch the flow of the water and
listen for the birds, to look for flowers to photograph or
check out the sky’s changing scenes

SIXTH—BREATHE IN deeply as I watch the light
of a candle and feel drawn into its simple, innocent
warmth, giving and expecting nothing in return and
I release all the burdens I placed upon myself
into the purifying flames

SEVENTH—BREATHE OUT as I relax muscles
I did not even realize were tense and feel the flow of Life
return slowly, gradually until a tiny, pinpoint of light
seems to appear,
just the tiniest dot in the distance
hinting that there is hope to succeed this time
to “take it to the limit” one more time . . .
yes . . . YES!, keep pushing –
defeat is just a thought away,
BUT . . .
I can take it to the limit one more time — I can add things vital to restore Life to me –
I can restore the flow of Life one more time
—-
“The line ‘Take it to the limit’ was to keep trying before
you reach a point in your life where you feel you’ve done
everything and seen everything – sort of feeling, you
know, part of getting old,” Meisner said in The History of
the Eagles. “And just to take it to the limit one more time,
like every day just keep punching away at it. …
—-