Mary’s
Minute
“A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.”
~ Lao Tzu
We all have times when we feel overwhelmed. It is tough for me to even type the “o” word
because admitting it makes me feel weak.
An analogy came to me the other night that helped clear my mind. It was very late when I walked through my
kitchen and noticed the dishwasher had completed its cycle and needed to be
unloaded. I sighed thinking of the task,
which at nearly midnight seemed exhausting.
I opened it and thought I would just put away the plates and leave the
rest until morning. The plates proved to
be an easy job, so I grabbed the bowls and put them in their place. Before I knew it all that remained was the
silverware – the dreaded silverware! I
had another moment of defeat, thinking it would have to wait until morning, but
maybe I would just grab all the spoons.
The forks, and then the knives easily followed. Just like that the job that had felt
overwhelming just minutes before was done because I broke it down into single
steps. I realize that a simple household
chore does not compare to the vast workload that teachers and many others face,
but as I was stacking coffee cups the similarities stood out to me. The task before me was not a difficult one,
but in the moment it felt exhausting and somehow the dishwasher not being
unloaded made the rest of the incomplete household chores surrounding me seem
paralyzing. Tasks, difficult and simple,
can seem crushing, but when we start that journey of a thousand miles with that
single step we feel empowered to keep going and before we know it we feel
better and have a task crossed off our to-do list. We all have journeys before us. I wish you the best in your metaphorical trek
and encourage you to remember my household conundrum and feel empowered!
Have a great week!
Mary
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