Ruts

“Habit is necessary; it is the habit of having habits, of turning a trail into a rut, that must be incessantly fought against if one is to remain alive.” – Edith Wharton

(****On an aside, I first started today’s blog post with “I think that the most important thing . . . ” and then I stopped and I deleted “I think“. Of course I think what I am writing. That is why I am writing it. When I add “I think” it is unnecessary, and makes it seem apologetic and less full of conviction. I remember getting blasted by an English teacher once, for starting every sentence with “I feel”. First of all, feelings are sensations. They are not thoughts. Feelings are a direct result of our thoughts and our actions. Secondly, if I write something, I should be able to stand by it, with conviction. Thank you to all of my wonderful English teachers throughout my schooling. Your lessons were not lost on me. <3 And yes, we writers do feel a lot about what we think. I feel. I definitely feel.)

The most important thing about taking breaks from your normal everyday life, whether it be on a trip or even a “staycation” is that you stop digging the rut of your everyday life. A rut is literally “a long, deep track made by the repeated passage of the wheels of vehicles” (Oxford dictionary). Vehicles often get stuck in ruts. So do people. Doing anything differently for a day, or a week, or a month, always changes your perspective to some degree. It gives you insight you didn’t have before. Taking the trail off of the rutted road helps you grow in new directions.

One of the meanings of vacation is this “a respite or a time of respite from something”. Is there something you need to take a respite from in your own life, so you can consider it more carefully? Look at the normal routine of your every day and ask yourself, “Why?” about everything. Be your own annoying five-year-old kid. Why? Why? Why? Why do I make my bed this way? Why do I eat these things? Why do I go to bed when I do? Why do I watch what I watch? Why do I belong to this club or organization? Why do I part my hair this way? Do these “whys” still make sense for me?

When I am on vacation, being the curious person that I am, I am a huge observer. I observe how other people do things. And then I observe my own reactions to my observations. I often start a few new trails in my own life, based on my new observations and my reactions to these observations.

Vacations do not have to be exotic trips abroad. Vacations are just movements away from our own rutted roads. Vacations are respite from our ruts. Give yourself a vacation from just one “everyday thing” in your life today. Journey off the rutted road.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Here is the question of the day from 3000 Questions About Me:

609. Do you do your utmost for the environment?

The Force and Garden Eels

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“How your life feels is more important that how it looks.” – Think Smarter

How is everyone feeling today, readers? I am taking another temperature check. You’ve been a little quiet out there. How’s the force within you? It is pulsating or is it a tad weak? Whatever it is, it’s okay. Do what feels best.

Silence may be as variously shaded as speech. – Edith Wharton

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-52500113?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20200504&instance_id=18202&nl=the-morning&regi_id=121107475&segment_id=26556&te=1&user_id=8d9827cde5758c7f510b01ae213d8966

I really enjoyed the above news story reported by the BBC. It turns out the Sumida Aquarium in Tokyo needed help with some interaction with its Garden Eels. Garden Eels know quite a bit about isolating, as they rarely ever leave the burrows, in the sand, that they live in. Isolation is their regular way of life. The Eels that live in the Sumida Aquarium were forgetting what humans looked like and were shyly staying buried in their burrows instead of peeking out. Their keepers were worried about them and they were having trouble monitoring the little eels’ health. Their solution to this problem? They set up iPads with cameras and asked people to come “look” at their garden eels, to keep them used to human faces and to human interaction. Watch the video. It’s strangely calming.

A sad-looking garden eel

So, my little garden eels, how are you doing really? What “takes” have you gotten from all of this isolation? Are you starting to poke your heads out a little bit more? Are you feeling scared and wanting to stay buried in the comforts of your own burrows? Whatever you are feeling, it’s all okay. And it’s all going to be okay.