A. Inability to fall asleep peacefully and quickly.
B. Inability to watch movies any more thought-provoking than You've Got Mail or possibly My Little Pony without arousing symptom A.
C. Temptation to peek in my planner multiple times during quiet time that is supposed to be reserved for God.
D. An irrational sense of doom.
E. Occasional shortness of breath when thinking about all the things I have to do. No, really, I have to do them.
F. Occasional heart fluttering.
I'm fairly disturbed by these symptoms (and frankly a little embarrassed to post them-- I'm supposed to not be anxious about anything right?). I'm also struck by how... Western they sound.
I've been reading a large volume of literature on Mozambique and its culture, so when I picked up Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver, I was struck by how such a title could only apply to the Western world, and certainly not to the African culture we're really to dive into.
The title refers to Luke 10:40-42, which are obviously not modern or Western in origin:
'But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” '
But isn't is just amazing that we Westerners have created a whole culture of Marthas?
Not that I want to demonize my culture or set Mozambican culture up on a pedestal, but I wish I could find a little more balance in my life. A little more margin to relax and just be mixed in with the frenetic to-do list streaming.
I don't really have a conclusion for this point. I'm just interested in sending my
Anyone else out there deal with busyness-induced stress?
perpetual over-stimulation? Yes. I do find that it is self-prompted. Because, you know...I absolutely MUST check my e-mail or facebook many times a day. I'm not sure I exhibit signs of stress because of it, but I know that when I was working and had access more readily to a computer and checking my e-mail, I was much more stressed out.
ReplyDeleteWhat is "Stimulization"?
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