Well, Here’s Another Nice Mess You’ve Gotten Me Into!

Do I ever want to leave the planet?  Yes, sometimes.

Those of us who grew up watching The Wizard of Oz call it wanting to “Lie down in a field of poppies and go to sleep” or as Stephen Colbert said, “Crawl into bed with a cheesecake and wait for death”.

Is it the same as wanting to jump off a bridge?  Not at all.  Rather more of a perverse acknowledgment that there is something else going on here than this earth experience we think we are having.

Is it a good attitude?  I actually think so, because it is an honest one; and I believe that those of us who have it, only do so because we know that we are in this world but not of it.  A key ingredient to not taking it all too seriously.

I have a similar experience two or three times a week in my workout with my Serbian fitness trainer – a beautiful yet merciless soul who pushes me way past what I think of as my limit.  I would give anything to make it stop in the moment.  But, I would never trade in the results.

At the end of the day, I know that I want me in this for a bit longer because I have a lot more to do.  I don’t get to pack it in until I am done.  And, owing to the fact that I know that I know best, I bow down in respect to myself.  Little me has got to listen to big me.

I think that while we are here it is OK, and in fact vital to our well-being, to accept our occasional discouragement and exhaustion. These are not wrong experiences, they are weathervanes.  They let us know if we are heading in an unproductive direction.  They help us navigate more efficiently.

It is also OK to want to leave the planet at times – to set aside our worldly cares and look forward, joyfully, to the journey home.

It is normal to want to go home…I want to go home…someday…

But, it is an act of maturity, and an opportunity for transformation, to stay graciously where the work is…

…until the work is done.

Love is all that matters…

Image: Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy