Forced flexibility. It can have two meanings, at least in my world and this morning is a good example of both. One scenario I am good at, or try to be - physical exercise that involves flexibility exercises. If I do not maintain a regular regimen of my self-prescribed combination of Pilates, yoga, and free weights, my body complains loudly.......more loudly than when it complains during exercise. I am finding that my muscles, ligaments and tendons are like pieces of leather that got wet and were then set out in the hot sun. Each time I exercise, it is akin to re-wetting the leather and stretching it back out to its original form. (I was going to use the word 'shape' but my original 'shape' is long gone. I'll just settle for maintaining some semblance of a human form!) I find it fascinating that my body's natural inclination, at this stage of life, is to shrink and shrivel, but not in important, outward ways. Keeping flexibility is a constant battle, one which I'm not sure I'm winning or can even claim to have achieved a stalemate.
The other form of 'forced flexibility', one that I struggle with daily, is dealing with the natural changes that can occur in one's schedule due to life, the world, commitments, health issues, over-sleeping, work......any number of occurances that are outside of our control. A good friend of mine regularly suggests that only control 'freaks' cannot 'go with the flow' and that if all of the world's control freaks would simply 'let go', the world would be a calmer place. I cannot ascribe to that philosophy simply because 'one size does not fit all'. Some days, life throws fastballs at us and we have a good, hardwood baseball bat at hand but, on other days, the bat is nowhere to be found and the fastballs strike from every angle. I, like millions of other humans, am a creature of planning, habit, and purposeful execution.
Can I 'roll with the punches'? Absolutely. Educating children teaches you that almost instantly. However, my preference is to move through the day in an orderly and organized manner. This day did not begin that way and my method of coping? Coffee, the newspaper and a piece of chocolate.
Bring on those fastballs. I've found my bat now I hope you have yours.
Ancora imparo
