Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Overdone and Overdue

I have been on a four month break to further my research of effecting positive and lasting change by banging one’s head against metaphorical walls. Read my back blogs to explore my previous and extensive research in this area. On the bright side, I have become an expert in my field and have numerous case studies to draw on to further my theories. I am as overdone as the enchiladas I left in the oven at 375 last week when I gave into spontaneity and met friends for pizza thirty minutes away. Unlike the scalded dish, I bounce back, and promptly. I subscribe to a Twitter feed that throws topics out to encourage inspiration in writers. It doesn’t work for me. Today’s topic was “overdone” and while it may not inspire creativity in me, it certainly rings with familiarity.

Years ago, in a Mothers of Preschoolers “support group” we enjoyed a video I will never forget. It featured a juice box with one straw in it standing against a plain backdrop. The narrator detailed a day in the life of a mother. His vocal cadence began in soothing tones and built to a more harried urgency. As he spoke, the juice box began to empty as its contents were seemingly sucked out. Several times during the monologue another straw would be jammed into the box until it was reduced to a pathetic, shriveled, shell of a container and eventually fell over.

As the video played, the room grew silent as dozens of exhausted mothers related to the feeling of the force being drained by multiple sources. The tension was a drenching humidity in the room. When the box fell over the room erupted in laughter. We were all overdone. The pressure was lifted because while we all understood the feeling of becoming overdone, we also knew that falling over in epic defeat is not an option. Sometimes a working knowledge of the end result is exactly the motivation we need to establish and ensure our resiliency. And resiliency is the gift of experience and persistence.

I will keep this one short because while resiliency is the panacea to becoming overdone, it doesn’t quite move mountains. It just shoves them out of the way enough for you to get around.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The more I read your writing the more I enjoy it.