That simple statement could apply to many situations in life. What brings this topic up for me right now is a recent car maintenance situation. Here’s the story.

My last couple of days have been kinda crazy. Trying to do too much. This is something I have done for several years. I don’t know when it started but I do know that I have been busy in my life, always wanting to do and experience more. While I was going through cancer treatment there was a lot of sitting around – resting, healing. It made me a little crazy, there was life to live and I wanted to get out and do it.

Some of the self-talk phrases I have used in the last few years were “running to catch up with myself”, “go, go, go a little faster”. “I want to d it all”. My Hanai mom told me I was a “free agent” so could do as I please. I schedule my own life. My time constraints are put on myself.

I do a variety of things to supplement my income. Housekeeping both private and vacation rentals. Tech Support for Seniors, scheduling a printer issue as I write this. I also practice energy work with sound healing being my latest modality for which I have several classes going on. I balance life with fun things as well as work-related things. Sometimes it is scheduled tightly, I have learned about adding some padding time between tasks. Some days I do better than others on that. Sometimes I get caught in a too much pattern and don’t realize it.

The vacation rental cleaning that I was working on had some odd quirks going on with processes to achieve my goal. I wasn’t able to finish the cleaning in the time allotted the day before so was up and out of the house early, on the job site by 7 am. I did what needed to e done and buzzed over to my scheduled cleaning at 9 am. All is flowing well, getting done the things that need to be done, plus a little extra. Breathing, telling myself I can get through this day, one thing at a time.

Getting home just before 1 pm, I have already put in 6 hours of physical work, I’m tired. I have a regularly scheduled teleconference with my therapist at 1 pm. This week was tentative as he may have a conflict. When I got the text that it would be canceled for this week I was relieved. This gave me a bit of a break, which I needed. I unloaded tools and supplies from my car. Had some lunch. Played with my kittens for a few minutes then headed out to my car to zoom into the rest of my day – Farmers Market then carpool to sound healing with friends later.

The car wouldn’t start. I turned the key and nothing happened. The lights came on on the dashboard but there was nothing. The last couple of times I had started it, it had given me a signal that I didn’t pay attention to. For some reason, I was thinking it was the battery, but I didn’t think about it much at the time. So when the car didn’t start I just went “dead battery” in my mind. And the story took a turn, a lesson to be learned.

I didn’t think about the possibility of it being anything else but a dead battery. I didn ’t connect that the window rolled down and back up. I had a dead battery. Actually, it was my life energy battery that was dead, or running on low. I felt like the Universe was sending me a message. STOP, slow down. I had had something similar happen last year but it was my body that broke down from doing too much. Trying to do better and be kinder to my body I was grateful it was my car that had the problem this time. I could handle the financial hit of the battery. It meant I don’t get to order that 2nd flute in the key of G that I have been wanting.

I would deal with it tomorrow and give myself the afternoon off to do nothing but sit in my hammock and rest. I lined up a ride with my neighbor to the sound healing. Contacted the friend re not carpooling, canceled my orders at the farmers market. Then rested in my hammock, practiced my flute, and took a time out. I checked prices on batteries in the area and realized I could turn a frown upside down by having breakfast in town with the friend who had offered to help me with the battery.

Part 2 . This blog is part of an Ultimate Blog Challenge I am doing for the month of July to get myself in the habit of writing daily. Yesterday 7/27/2023 was the first day this month that I missed. I just could not stay awake last night to do it. I started it then kept nodding off. In the past I would have beat myself up and forced myself to stay up and do what I said I was going to do. Instead I showed myself compassion and went to bed. I got up first thing off and wrote the story, the lessons, the growth experience. I love my life. I have a little card on my desk which reads “I Am Grateful for All Life Experiences”. And so it is.