Monday at Last

“Monday at Last”

I am sitting paralyzed at the realization that Monday is less than 8 hours away. It feels like just yesterday, I left my office with a pep in my step and keys in hand, excited about the upcoming weekend. I am seriously considering not sleeping tonight in order to stretch out my weekend a few more hours.

I hate hating Mondays! As I sat, pouting and having a pity party, I figured out a few things that might help you and me not cry tomorrow morning.

• Stop living for the weekends. We have to stop seeing Monday as dooms day and Friday as the day of Jubilee. I am not sure if you know this, but restaurants take reservations for 2 on Mondays. Parks are still open to the public on Tuesdays. Movies have showings on Thursdays. Fun activities do not have office hours. Stop “existing” through the week and “living” on the weekends. Live life 7 days a week.
• Take daily selfies. I am not talking about photos either. Every day, do at least one thing that makes you smile. Go to that Zumba class  you loved so much on Tuesday nights. Treat yourself to your favorite cupcake spot at lunch on Monday. This Thursday, call your girlfriend and talk for an hour about things that make you laugh until your side hurts. Whether 5 minutes or 50, take time for a daily selfie.
• Maximize the mundane. I have come to grips with the fact that my 9 – 5 would not make the list of the top 10 exciting occupations but there are aspects of it that I really love. For example, I have a co worker that really should be a stand-up comedian. Each day, I make it a point to stop by her office just to get a good laugh. Also, since I work with the elderly I have started listening to their personal life stories. I have heard war and love stories that would put “Saving Private Ryan” and “The Notebook” to shame. I will continue to look for the little things about my day that really are diamonds in the rough.
• Shrink the “To Do” List. The weekday list of “To Dos” in most of our lives looks like rolling credits at the end of a movie. We spend our week days trying to check off a list that is forever growing. If we overbook our days, then every day we will feel overbooked. Figure out what things are truly “must dos” and which things are “will dos”.
• Change your thinking and your language. Don’t refer to your job as “this stupid dump” but rather “the place that I get to showcase my talents and skills”. Don’t think of getting your kids ready in the morning and to school on time as the “morning rat race” but as “another moment to bond with your babies”. Instead of saying “Monday already” ,how about trying “Monday at last!” I know it may sound like the power of positive thinking because it is. Your thinking changes your behavior and your behavior changes your experience. Make it a point to experience Monday differently this week and forever.

The Man

The Man

I have a multitude of unique preferences and idiosyncrasies.  Translation:  I have a bunch of weird quirks.  I have enough self awareness to admit that the number and nature of them can be classified as bizarre.

 For example, if I am walking with an open beverage and I am unfortunate enough to smell a random foul odor, I will throw my drink away.  I am convinced that the air that carried that smell to my nose is now in my drink.

 Another example would be the fact that I have to dot every I and cross every T, literally.  Seriously, when I hand write something I have to go back over the document and make sure that every I and T have their rightfully assigned dots and crosses.  Sometimes I test myself to see if I  could purposely leave an I or T unfinished.  Impossible!  Something compels me to go back and correct it.

 Other examples include the absolute fury that runs through my body when someone pinches me.  Or the unique way that I have to shower at a hotel in order to make sure that no part of the shower curtain touches me.  Or flushing public toilets before I use them, even if it is a fresh bowl, with the hope that I can flush away some of the awful germs.

 The list goes infinitely on, but spare you the others.
  
As I reflect on Resurrection Sunday, its meaning and its magnitude, of course it brings me straight to Jesus.  This morning my thoughts are not on Jesus the Divine God, but Jesus the man.  My mind wondered to thoughts of how He was as a person, in the flesh, just like you and me.  I wondered what were his likes, dislikes, preferences and quirks.

 Did he not like his food to touch?  Did he hate to get to bed after a certain time? Could he tolerate all the times he bagged or bruised his hand while working but it was the small wooden splinters that drove him nuts?  Did he wear a head wrap while working because he hated the stinging of sweat in his eyes?  Did certain sounds annoy like crickets or clanging metal annoy him? What did he think about when he was up late and could not sleep?

 When I think about him in this way, it makes this day much more powerful.  That a man, with feelings, preferences, likes, dislikes, just like me, went to the cross.  It makes me realize that it was Jesus the Divine God that rose from the dead but it was Jesus the man who went to the cross.

I invite you to think of Jesus in this way.  Take a moment to see him as a flesh and blood man.  Now picture the embarrassment, the pain, the stinging and irritating sweat in this eye, the thirst, the hunger, the desires, the sleepiness, the annoying sounds, the cramps, the agony.

 Many times we view Easter as a tradition to be celebrated without stopping to really reflect.  So today saints, reflect.  Your point of reflection may be different than mine, but I am certain you will get a fresh perspective and a stronger appreciation for what Jesus, the God man, did for you and me. 

Thank you, Jesus!