Got up early this morning and took a brisk walk with a couple of friends ... just short of two miles.
When I asked for an accountability partner recently, one of these women stepped up ... she is one of the most positively motivated individuals I have ever met. The other has been a permanent fixture in my life for some 20 years or so ... closer than family ... she has open-ended permission to weigh in on anything that's going on with me.
These two friends always provide encouragement, support & interesting commentary on life & love & a myriad of other topics. Each of them is a constant source of inspiration as they bravely face the challenges that life brings their way. They always make me smile!
And this morning was no exception.
After some dialogue about children ... people that act like children ... what's on each of our plates ... some short term plans with long term impact ... we ended our walk with a discussion about my turtle stuff.
One friend said her take on the whole turtle thing is that the turtle represents me ... because the turtle never gets in a hurry ... doesn't rush into things ... takes a lot of time to make decisions ...
Ha Ha Ha. That was funny. Really?!? Is that how she sees me?!?
I am impatient. Always moving forward. A do-it-if-it's-wrong kinda gal. And this whole concept of impatiently waiting patiently has been a tremendous struggle for me. Seriously. Let's make it happen. There's nothing worse than doing nothing.
I told her that I was pretty sure that the whole turtle thing was more about the protective shell than the slow, meandering, careful lifestyle.
She continued saying that maybe the reason I keep getting that same Message From God ... over and over and over ... is that in "people" time it's redundantly showing up for days ... but that maybe in the unhurried pace of "turtle" time it's just one continuous message ... that somehow time is measured differently in turtle time ... not so much by minutes/hours/days as by distances/journeys ...
Hmmm ... might be something there ... time continuum ...
My other friend ... the one that's known me longer ... the one who has been there through ALL of my stuff ... watching my back ... picking up my slack ... believing in me unwaveringly as if I had a clue ... the one that always shows up ... yeah, the one that's always there ... no matter when ... no matter where ...
THAT friend ... sat me down last nite ... & awkwardly waded into a heartfelt conversation about turtles & their shells ...
Vulnerabilities.
Her heart was in the right place. Still I think her original conclusions were somewhat offbase.
Thing is, though, the conversation was sincere & genuine ... thought provoking ...
And I always listen to what she has to say ... because the kaleidoscope that she views life through isn't the same as mine ... her shapes & colors are uniquely her own ... as are mine ...
It's awesome to have friends who care enough about you to think about your things ... to share their thoughts on your stuff ... to be willing to take a chance on touching a nerve or pushing a button in order to help you figure it all out ...
Friends who know that they DO have the power to offend you but are willing to speak their mind rather leave you floundering in your own confusion ...
Yesterday I determined that different questions was where I would find the answer that has been eluding me ...
...day after day after day ...
As I struggle to discover what it is that is causing my life to remain the same ... even though I am eagerly searching for change.
So, yeah, I am pretty sure there is something to the "time" thing ... turtle time ... God's time ...
Because my lifetime is simply a blink of His eye ...
That's what my friend said this morning.
It's definitely something to think about ...
Different questions. That's the outcome of this morning's walk.
As we reached the corner, my two friends awkwardly exchanged a hug ... both openly acknowledging that they aren't "huggers" ... yet somehow it was ok ... it simply felt nice ... right ...
How cool is that?!?
www.lifelessons-mj.blogspot.com
(c) Mary Jane Sawyer 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment