Toil and Trouble

When tough times happen in your life, they don't typically send you a "Save the Date" card to let you know they are coming. No, stressful situations are ninjas.

The first one sneaks up on you and delivers a roundhouse kick to your head. As you grab your aching head, the second administers swift and punishing blows to your knees, dropping you to the ground. Everything happens so fast, you can't begin to react. The third ninja sits atop your crippled back, a giant sword in his hands dangling mere milimeters from your neck. Just as your thoughts finally collect into a primal scream, realizing your death is imminent, the ninjas vanish, and you are left to assess the damage, get to safety, and get help.

Only when you are in a safe place and nursing your wounds do you begin to think. The questions begin with Why? Why Me? and they spiral from there, until you are either immobilized with depression or galvanized into action: The ninjas did not defeat me.

I have a lot on my mind. Between the trepidatious excitement of success at work, to the devastating shock of rejection, to the confidence-shattering events and occurrences in everyday life and in personal relationships, I can't focus on one feeling long enough to absorb its deeper meaning.

Talking does not always help matters. Mulling things over does not always provide clarity. Sometimes you must lie very still and hope the ninjas don't see you.