Esausto!

Have you ever run of gas when you are already late for a meeting?  Have you ever run of funds while Christmas shopping and you still have several more gifts to purchase for family members?  Have you ever attempted to communicate something to someone for the umpteenth time, and it seems that they never hear you?  How many days have you attempted to start a day with a positive grateful feeling and then in a wink of an eye some unexpected drama brings you down leaving you with a feeling of being smothered?  Have you ever organized yourself and the details of your life to only be dumped on with more unexpected responsibilities, and then not given any more time to accomplish the tasks leaving you with a feeling of swirling down a toilet bowel?  Do you have people in your life who you can not figure out how to please?  Do you give 100% at everything you do, but still don't seem to receive respect?  Have you ever attempted to change your lifestyle by becoming physically fit; but then the weight doesn't seem to fall off, and you don't seem to experience the higher level of energy which others promise that you will achieve?  As more and more of these types of experiences occur, the more spent you may feel.  This is EXHAUSTION.

Exhaustion is a huge problem for many people. It means to be drained of strength or energy; being worn out; or fatigued greatly. Exhausted human beings feel used up and completely consumed. They feel like a pile of ashes in a fire place. Being exhausted can include the consumption of your emotional and mental states along with your physical energy.  Emotional and mental exhaustion can be due to some physical ailment or deficiency, but is the stress of being emotionally and mentally exhausted affecting your physical state? .........It's like which comes first?........
the chicken or the egg?

An old Irish Proverb recommends that the best doctor cure for what ails ya is a good laugh and a long sleep.  I find this to be true, but only temporarily.  If the elements which are inducing exhaustion remain in your environment, then the cycle will continue. You will continue to go around in circles till you are all used up.  Somehow, a balance needs to be achieved......a balance between the stressors in your life and how you handle the stressors.

B.K.S. Iyengar, a yoga instructor and philosopher, states that your health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind, and spirit, and adds that when you are free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open.  If exhaustion remains for long period time, then one's quality of health and life could reduce to microscopic proportions.  It is imperative that a change occurs in order to balance your emotions, mental state, and physical being. How do you change? How do change the direction which you are traveling?  How do open the gates of life for your soul?  I don't have the answers, but my studies have taught me that through time spent in prayer and meditation, God will lead you to those gates if you listen and watch for his winks. Have I eliminated my exhaustion? No. I am better at changing my ways.....I am better at adapting, but till my environment changes, I am stuck in a vicious cycle of exhaustion.....so I continue with my regiment of eating properly; regular exercise; prayer and meditation; and finding time for more laughs and naps.  

There is a Buddist saying which states that if we are facing in the right direction, then all we have to do is keep walking.  Well, what if you don't have the stamina to take one more step?  Or what if that next step feels like it may lead you off of a cliff? How do you know if you are in the right direction? I suppose if the path which you are on doesn't seem like dire straits, then you are probably on the right path. The right path shouldn't make you feel like you are in a maze with no exit leading to high anxiety.  One thing that I have learned as of late is that if you accept your current path as the path which God's desires for you then peace finds you. You can always make a prayer request for a different path, but sometimes the request is left unanswered....so we think.  Thinking that your life should be different than what God allows can produce exhausting feelings of doubt and sadness.

 With all due respect, I apologize for any overwhelming negativity in my writing today, but it is an effect of exhaustion.  On a happy note, I want to add a comment by Persius, a Roman poet.  He stated many centuries ago that you conquer what you endure........so hang in there and don't give up.  Look at the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals
.........Their story this past baseball season involved many exhausting hurdles over and over again.....With positive changes, lots of hope, and a steady dose of humility, they endured against all odds to win the World Series.  Your happy miraculous ending is right in front of you.....just allow God to lead you and accept whatever He sends your way.....the good, the bad, the ugly....or the wonderful!  If you accept whatever God sends your way, then you will always be happy with what is going on in your life.  Sound easy?

Well.....remember the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals' greatest achievement this year was earned through lots of hard work........

.....practice, practice, and practice. Albert Pujols wasn't born swinging the bat in the way he does and Yadier Molina wasn't born with a catcher's instinct and rocket arm.  They've endured, persevered, and practiced.....gaining increased skill with each throw and swing......so don't give up! If David Freese had given up on baseball, then he would never had earned two MVP's this year. 

The amazing thing thing about exhaustion is that it can lead to joy! .....When I looked at the faces of the Cardinal players at the end of game 7, I saw joy and exhilaration. After all of the physical and mental toll on their bodies over the past month of postseason games, they were on top of the world. They were floating on clouds last night and that's where I want to be.....I am looking forward to when all of my exhaustion leads me to that cloud of joy! I expect miracles in my life, so the joy must be delivered for Psalm 65 states that His miracles bring shouts of joy to the gateways of morning and evening.

May St. Raphael lead me through my exhaustion to accepting a path of peace and exhilarating joy!
St. Francis de Sales, pray for my honorable abilities with my state in life.
Blessed Mother Teresa, pray for my soulful intentions.
St. Florian, pray for the safety of fire and emergency responders.

- little petunia