Rules…the Things that Dreams Are Made Of…

Sometimes we need a different set of rules…for good day and bad days

These words were going through my head when I woke up this morning…not sure exactly what I was dreaming about…but…it feels like I was talking to a child…giving advice…

So…I’ve been thinking about what these words mean…what they are trying to say to me…and to be honest…I’m not completely certain…we’ll see what transpires as I write…not much time for editing…so here we go…

My first thought is those days that I get up on the proverbial wrong side of the bed…you know those mornings when everything seems to be going wrong…I wake up late…can’t decide what to wear…forgot to set the coffee pot the night before…get stuck in traffic…or at the train tracks…what if…on those mornings…I made new rules…different rules…what if for starters…I didn’t worry about being late for work…

Now...hear me out…before you call my principal and tell him to start checking my arrival times…read what I said again…what if I didn’t worry about being late for work…that doesn’t mean I’m not going to do everything in my power to get there on time…it just means I’m not going to fret about it…

I like that rule change…in fact…I like it so much…I want to use it every day…not just on bad ones…hmmm…

The next example of a bad day that comes to me…involves a disagreement with a friend…family member…co-worker…you know the kind that just keeps playing over and over again in your head…like reruns of a bad movie…what if I changed the rule…and changed channels…

What if I said the Forgiveness Prayer…until I felt better about myself…and better about them…what if I said it until I felt peace and forgiveness…

Hmmm…I like that rule change a lot…it feels calming…in fact…think I want to use it every day as well…

The next bad day that comes to mind is frustration…the day that words won’t come…that my to-do list rivals Santa’s delivery list…when the cake I need in 45 minutes…takes an hour to bake…what if I change the rule and go in a different direction…

What if I leave the computer…and do something fun…until the words return…they always come back…and they usually tumble out quickly when they do…what if I threw my to-do list in the trash…and asked my heart what I needed to accomplish for the day…what if I changed directions with the cake…what if I switched to cupcakes…or bought one…or just let it go…

Well…I hate to admit it…but I like that rule change as well…I think it’s a keeper…hmmm…

Well…I’m still not sure what the dream reference was all about…but…I’m beginning to see the fallacy of it…maybe it has no more significance than those dreams where I show up to Church in my nightgown…or worse…without it…but…I digress…

Maybe I just need new rules…rules that are softer…more gentle…rules that work with me…not against me…rules that don’t beat me up…

Or…better yet…maybe I don’t need any rules at all…maybe each day…each moment…should determine what I actions I take…maybe I don’t have to figure them out ahead of time…and set them in stone…and always adhere to them…

Definitely something to think about…

Jane