Another gem from Marc and Angel Chernoff of Hack Life.
It is another example of insight from the Universe that came along for me when I needed it.
I am intimately familiar with overwhelm. I lived that way for most of my adult life.
Was it a character fault? A habit I’d developed to cope? I’m still not sure.
Those fastidious people who can tackle projects on an orderly and well-organized timeline?
I don’t understand those people.
But I’m learning. Slowly.
And late.
But I’m learning.
I envy those people. They often produce results of lasting duration. They benefit those around them in small and large ways. They firmly root themselves in their legacy.
Marc Chernoff’s post below offers a partial explanation for why I may have acted the way I did.
Too much is sometimes simply too much. We must learn to stop, sit down, and let the flood waters flow over and past us. How and however we can.
“Do not ruin today with mourning tomorrow.”
— Catherynne M. Valente
Ever feel a little overwhelmed? Or really overwhelmed? Here’s a story that may resonate.
Once upon a time there was a man who had been lost in the desert for three whole days without water. Just as he was about to collapse, he saw what appeared to be a lake a few hundred yards in front of him. “Could it be? Or is it just a mirage?” he thought to himself.
With the last bit of strength he could muster, he staggered toward the lake and quickly learned that his prayers had been answered: it was no mirage — it was indeed a large spring-fed lake full of more fresh water than he could ever drink in his lifetime. Yet while he was practically dying of thirst, he couldn’t bring himself to drink the water. He simply stood by the water’s edge and stared down at it.
There was a passerby riding on a camel from a nearby desert town who was watching the man’s bizarre behavior. She got off her camel, walked up to the thirsty man and asked, “Why don’t you have a drink, sir?”
He looked up at the woman with an exhausted, distraught expression on his face and tears welling up in his eyes. “I think I’m dying of thirst,” he said, “But there is way too much water here in this lake to drink. No matter what I do, I can’t possibly finish it all.”
The passerby smiled softly, bent down, scooped some water up with her hands, lifted it to the man’s mouth and said, “Sir, your opportunity right now, and as you move forward throughout the rest of your life, is to understand that you don’t have to drink the whole lake to quench your thirst. You can simply take one sip — just one small sip… and then another if you choose. Focus only on the mouthful in front of you, and most of your anxiety, fear, and overwhelm about the rest will gradually fade.”
Expressive Compulsive 