FEELING OVERWHELMED?

FEELING OVERWHELMED?

 I must admit I am feeling a bit overwhelmed these days.  Between all the hate and violence in the U.S., threats from North Korea, and a government that appears to be dysfunctional, I was already anxious.

Then Harvey hit.  Just driving through the nearest town, La Grange, Texas, brings home the catastrophic destruction the hurricane wrought.  About 500 homes and numerous businesses were flooded by a historic rise of the Colorado River.  The cleanup continues…And another hurricane coming?

While I sustained little damage, I lost about 7 trees on my 50 acres and numerous branches are down everywhere.  I almost cried as I drove the property, looking at the new losses plus the 50+ dead trees I haven’t removed from the 2011 drought.  And then my old nemesis, the mesquite, have sprouted with a ferocity I haven’t seen in years.  It’s back to war with the pesky brush.  I could work outside daily for the rest of the year and still not have it cleaned up.

Of the few roof leaks we sustained, one of them managed to land smack dab in my wireless computer keyboard, frying it.  Sigh…my new one is not as nice.

I don’t even want to talk about the state of the inside and outside of my house.  I had removed everything that could become a projectile during the storm off the porches and out of the yard.  Putting everything back together wouldn’t be so bad, but I twisted my knee and couldn’t walk for the better part of a week.

Then there’s all the volunteer work I got myself into….

What to do?

When we are overwhelmed, it’s good to take a step back and see how our situation could be worse. Looking on the bright side, I sustained little damage and I have a wonderful daughter who showed up to put the house back together.  My knee is better and I can now walk.  A cold front is bringing the high temperatures in Central Texas to the mid-80s, making those 100-degree days a thing of the past.

I’ll leave you with a quote from Greg Anderson, American author:  “The perfect no-stress environment is the grave.  When we change our perception we gain control.  The stress becomes a challenge, not a threat.  When we commit to action, to actually doing something rather than feeling trapped by events, the stress in our life becomes manageable.”

So…I’ll write a few letters to my elected representatives, set goals for completion of some of my volunteer projects, and spray the hell out of the mesquite Saturday.

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