Something has been dawning on me over the last couple of weeks. Yes, we all know who our worst critic is however I was not running towards the roar very well. I want to be honest with you and hopefully, you will be encouraged too.
I am not doing what I have been encouraging others to be doing! In a sense, I have not been thinking about my own thinking!
How did this come to me? My performance. I was not following through on 2 commitments I had made. It is not that I was doing anything bad, wrong, or evil however I was not doing what was the best, right or good. They may not be life-changing commitments; they were some writings that I needed to get done. The problem is that when there is something we need to, should do, but do not totally like doing –we procrastinate.
The moments are referred to as HALT times. They can become negative when we are not proactive and face the Roar so we can run towards it. These times of dithering, temptation, or failure to follow through on priorities are the reasons when we must face the roars;
- Hunger
- Anger
- Lonely
- Tired
Hunger is those times when there’s an emotional or physical ‘need’. There’s a craving in ourselves, not just food, so we try to satisfy it with fillers. This filler can come in many forms; shopping, scrolling on various apps, TV binging, plus food. While these things could temporarily bring relief, they will not fill the physical or emotional emptiness you’re feeling.
Anger is a healthy and very normal emotion. The key here is what we are getting angry about. Anger must be expressed in constructive ways, as tragically when we do not deal with it constructively it may be destructive to the very relationship we value most. Expressing anger can be done through physical exertion, creative and renewing activities, meditation or talking things through with someone who is not involved in the situation.
Lonely are those reasons when there may be a crowd of people or no one. Most often these are self-imposed isolations as we withdraw when we are not feeling supported or understood. Asking ourselves who we have reached out to lately is vital for addressing loneliness. Loneliness can also result in abusing substances to deal with things, try reaching out to have that beverage with someone who will converse, listen and who’s worthwhile connecting with.
Tired is probably one o the most challenging for adults these days. We are very often like the child who doesn’t want to go to bed saying, ‘but I’m not tired.’ Tiredness means our bodies, mind, and spirit pay the price. The result is that we can fill the day with errands, and meetings as if keeping busy is doing important things. Sadly, just like a crisis, running on low energy hinders our thinking, planning and the ability to RTTR.
Intellectually I knew what was happening, but I was not conceding I was a human being – I was still trying to be a human doing! With all the things we’ve had on our plate over the last 6 months, the pandemic aside, I have had lots of rationale for continuing. Then I caught a cold last week from the air conditioning of a training room, and I messed up my computer files and lost some. Taking my joy to a whole new level!
One of the 10 Commandments that applies here is to Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. What does a day of rest mean these days? Without getting all religious here, the principle is where we get our word sabbatical from. It is that season, whether it is once every 7 days, or once every 7 years, it is that RE season – taking time to RE-create, where we get Recreation from. To RE-charge not merely unplug. This will allow you and I to RE-store who we are called to be, so we can Run Towards the Roar.
Humans were not created for the sabbath, but this ‘day of rest’ was created for you and me. It means that you and I can take time to RE-focus and RE-fine the new norm. I am thinking about my thinking. I want to be an encourager and of service to others, so I can continue to Run Towards the Roar.
Maybe you will take some time to be encouraged to make the change and some season of rest as well?
