Tuesday thoughts

This is one of those slightly foggy, off-balance kinds of days.

I had a strange encounter yesterday at lunch with an old man who had come to visit one of our employees. I don’t know why I told you that, other than that it sticks out in my mind as indicative of how the day went yesterday. He shook my hand, and without asking my permission, began to put his “reflexology” skills to work, informing me that my liver wanted “more good water.” It was an oddly frustrating and violating experience, one that left me slightly off-balance for the next couple hours. I spun out a bit emotionally, a 180 degree turn of how I was previously experiencing the day, from peace and joy to an almost depressive and hopeless state, and it took some praying, and deliberate refocusing of my thoughts to return to my previous equilibrium. It made me think about a conversation I had on the weekend, about being a burden-bearer, and being careful when you pray for and interact with people, that you don’t absorb their sicknesses or their problems. I’m wondering more about the transfer of spiritual things these days, because I seem to keep having experiences that would make this a very real possibility. For example, could what I experienced yesterday have spiritual connotations? Can that sort of transfer of emotion happen unsuspectingly, without deliberate intent? Am I overspiritualizing the fact that I was angry at this man’s intrusion into my life and personal space, after I’d told him that I would prefer that he didn’t do so?

I did errands for a couple hours directly after work last night. First up was a trip to Ikea to buy a piece of furniture for my bedroom. Ultimately, I bought two shelf-like bed-side tables, and stacked them on top of each other, slightly off-set to create a bookshelf. I needed to create some more space for books in my bedroom, and I needed to clean and organize a corner in which I can comfortably engage in the studying and prayer and meditation I have committed to engage in more frequently (see yesterday’s post). I also bought groceries, some office/studying supplies I’ve needed, and went to the library.

After I got home from my errands, I spent an hour studying, reading, and praying, and then I built the furniture I’d bought. (I built it by myself! Which is sometimes a challenge with Ikea furniture, and a slight mechanical ineptitude. The one time I bought a chair at Ikea, it took me a whole evening to build it, spread out on the living room floor, and my dad sat and laughed at me the whole time. He told me it was better than reality tv!) I ended up being up much later than normal, by the time the tables were built, my bedroom was rearranged to accommodate them, and the necessary cleaning that is required when you move furniture you haven’t moved in a while was accomplished (can you say DUST BUNNIES?!). I am very pleased with my new space, and while it will still require a bit of cleaning and organizing tonight, I’m greatly looking forward to lighting some candles, curling up in my chair, and reading and studying over the next while.

I’m trying something new this week. I’m organizing my life for the week by creating an extensive “to do” list. I work really well to lists. They help me organize my thoughts, keep track of the little things (in fact, as I wrote this sentence I remembered two other little things I need to do this week, and sent an email to my home address, reminding myself to add them to my list). And, if it’s on a list, I’m more likely to accomplish it. Plus, I get a great deal of satisfaction from actually crossing things off my list.

In this case, I’ve put everything from “organize dressing table” to “buy toothpaste” to more relational things like “plan youth hang out night”, “have dinner with Megs”, or church/business things like “have meeting to plan youth retreat” on my list. As I said, the purpose of the list is to give me a single sheet of paper that I can glance at and see what needs to be done over the course of the week, and then I can plan my week to accommodate as many of those things as possible.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not driven by the list. If things come up that are more important, the things on the list can wait. But this is a new way for me to organize my life, and create a more disciplined rhythm to my days, and I’m hoping it works out well.