Oh, Those Bursts Of Energy!

Have you ever experienced those huge bursts of adrenalin that make you feel younger and faster, as if you could conquer the world in a single day? You know, springing out of bed like a young colt, ready for the world, taking up several new hobbies, making new affirmations, re-charged and gilled with exceptional strength, and prepared to take on a random heavyweight boxer? Well, maybe not that confident, but you know what I mean! So we wonder how that energy keeps running in and out of our life. Well, there might be some hidden reasons. 

These bursts of energy are usually accompanied by a need to “DO” stuff; not all of the “stuff” is familiar to us. So we want to take it on and show the world that we are indeed the exception to the aging rules and are relevant and energized like one of those PF Flyers commercials from the 1950s.

So we sprint to the art shop and return home with paint, easels, and the goal to crank out (at the very least) TEN masterpieces in maybe a week, all gallery-ready and suitable for framing. We begin new hobbies and insist on setting new goals, only to have that adrenalin abandon us and move on to another hopeful sage to plague us for a few weeks. 

I believe this is not uncommon, as I have experienced this a lot lately, and I call it the  “hurry up” syndrome that many elders run into, which only panics us and causes us not to complete anything. So my first suggestion as a cure for this is to eliminate the “I gotta do everything at once” thing because the things we are trying to accomplish in the time we have left on earth could be anyone’s goal.

The person with a terminal medical diagnosis, the person pursuing the bus chugging away from the curb, and this is their last time to be late for work, or even someone like me, whose eyesight is sometimes low level, at other times a little brighter. There is knowledge that one day the lights may go out unexpectedly. 

I do not believe that doing things quickly adds one day to our life or that living in panic mode will serve us well. The truth is that we must live within the parameter we are given. We can utilize that time and honor God’s gift of life to us by doing things that are helpful to ourselves and others. Keeping our minds and bodies healthy is one way, and refusing to panic according to the time we have been here or the time we talk ourselves into believing we have left.

We can decrease our gloomy thoughts, which in my mind exacerbates the panic most live in. We can also reduce negative stimulation from televised news, social media reports, and ongoing doom and gloom stories. So instead, I want to INCREASE something, add to your daily laughter, increase your joy in living, or phone a friend (I called a buddy from the fourth grade the other day, and we giggled like the girls we will always be! 

If we are taking on new projects, we should take them on with a sense of joy and anticipation rather than using the “hurry up” approach. We need to take our time within the time and not concern ourselves with anything but the moment, the house, and this day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice then and be glad in it! However, DO accept new challenges, explore new things, relationships, and adventures, and thank God for each experience! 

Psalm 118:24  ( Scripture reference) This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it.