A most ominous subject I should think, but of course from my side, one that's worthy of digging a little deeper for meaning. The first thing that comes to mind when I hear that word, having been born and raised in the south, is a person who is the legal property of another, and forced to obey them. But there is another way of looking at this word, and that is a person who is dependent....excessively dependent.....upon or controlled by something. Of course you see the difference here, where you can be controlled by someone or something, and honestly sometimes I don't know which is worse. You would think that being controlled by a person would be far more oppressive than a thing, but I suppose it would depend on the thing.
Someone can say or do something to make you feel bad about yourself, just by what they say and how they say it, but how does some "thing" make you feel bad about yourself? I guess it depends on how overpowering the thing is. It could be as simple as food, work, perfectionism about ones self, money, sex.....the list goes on. All those little pesky things that get in the way of peace and contentment, that can so easily slip into the unhealthy bracket, that if we found a healthy perspective could in fact allow us to awake each day looking forward to what lies ahead instead of dread.
So how do we get a healthy perspective? Well, it definitely takes some time in recognizing exactly what trips you up each day. And I think we all know on some level what those things are, but have just managed to keep it under the radar so we don't have to own up to it. Hey, been there done that. It's so easy to get busy with life and our own particular challenges each day, that we just hope it goes away on it's own, or at least ease up on the intensity.
Here is my latest, and its not a major issue, but it's one that sort of nags at me each day. I've been down this road before, knowing that tea is probably a better option for me heath wise, but so easily getting sucked into the coffee madness that goes on each day. Of course I love coffee, but love tea as well, and I guess I could reach a healthy balance of one of each per day, or of course my preference would be to nix the coffee completely, and get back to just tea. So today I decided to tackle it head on, and found that if I make a ritual out of my morning and afternoon drink, meaning getting out my really nice tea service, then it turns into something very special.
I truly believe you can do this with anything, but the most important part of this, is actually recognizing that you are in fact a slave to something, and it's not going to change until YOU make some sort of movement in a different direction. I suppose it would make it easier if you have something that will replace the thing you're trying to get rid of. Sort of like buying some yummy yogurt instead of reaching for the cookies and ice cream.
So for me.....switching things up today freed me up, and it's a good feeling. Now will I cave and head for the Starbucks while I'm out? Well, maybe....but maybe not. And I'm actually looking forward to having some really good tea in the morning with my china, Earl Grey, and low fat milk instead of sweetener, which has been SO easy to get hooked on...........or a slave to! Think about it......see what comes to mind that would be fun to change up.
