On Using Tools to Keep Going
Posted by susankmiller on October 20, 2009
I’ve had a pair of reading glasses for about three years now. I wear them infrequently, only when I remember–and that’s usually when I’m in front of my computer because my eyes remind me. I had never worn glasses before my son was born, and then all of the sudden I realized that the world seemed to have fuzzy edges. I wasn’t seeing things as clearly as I had before. When I had my eye exam a few months after Sam was born, the doctor gave me a prescription. My vision had always been 20/20, so I asked him what it was now. He said, “20/20.”
Huh? “Why then,” I asked, “do I need glasses?”
“Sometimes your eyes get tired,” he said. “Glasses will help your eyes focus when they’re too tired to focus on their own.”
I think it’s taken me all three years to really wrap my mind around that explanation. As I sit with my laptop open at 11 p.m. (wearing my glasses), trying to figure out how to do the 4-5 hours of work that I still need to do before my 9 a.m. meeting tomorrow, I’m beginning to get it. There are other habits that seem to follow the pattern of my use-them-to-make-your-eyes-work-when-they’re-tired glasses. What do we do when we haven’t gotten enough sleep and need to get going in the morning? Drink a cup of coffee (or insert your caffeinated beverage of choice here). How about when our muscles are tired and sore from over-exertion? Eat a banana (if you’re more healthy like my husband) or take some ibuprofen (if you’re more like me). I’m beginning to see a theme.
Perhaps I should take a cue and learn to just stop, slow down, and rest. I guess that’s what the whole point of Sabbath/sabbatical is all about, isn’t it?
I think I’ll close this laptop and get a good night’s sleep.
