Work Work

**Long post alert!**

Back to the “work” I was taking about yesterday. I want you, for a moment, to consider something you desire or a goal you want to accomplish. It can be short term or long term. Just grab hold of that idea in your mind. What will it take for you to reach that goal? Does the journey attached to the goal seem so far away you get anxious just thinking about the first step? Does it make you want to quit before you’ve even started? The work I mean? Does the thought of the work you’d have to do in order to reach that goal make you consider alternative routes, other quicker, less laborious means of capturing what you desire, what you deserve.

A good example of the type of goal or desire I’m speaking of is weight loss. If you’ve ever struggled with weight, you know how difficult it can be. One day you’re up. The next day you’re down. People talk about willpower and dedication as if that means the same for us all and if we eat just this or exercise this many hours, we’ll have that hourglass or stealthy figure we desire. Some days, that goal seems so far away, we look for shortcuts. Pills that promise to zap away the fat. Tae Bo, Pilates, 20-minute workouts, Keto, Atkins, South Beach, we try them all and we lose the weight. We gain the muscle, but because it is not connected to the work we are supposed to be doing, we gain it all back. Oftentimes, we find ourselves weaker, not stronger than when we began.

Here’s another, more personal example. As a young woman, I wanted protection, security, unconditional love. Now, all the things I wanted for myself were positive desires, goals that I could attain if I did the work. But like so much in life, it takes time. Having to wake each day, facing myself, swimming in a state of sadness, fear, uncertainty, it was certainly taking too long for me. So, instead of doing the work required to obtain what I desired, I found shortcuts., connected myself to people who promised protection, who professed love. Whether they meant it or not. I poured all the energy meant for my work into promises until I had been emptied of love and needed protection from the thing I was working to hold on to.

Like weight loss/muscle gain, initially, I got the feeling I wanted, but the thing I desired was never truly mine. Because, all the “work” I was doing was focused on maintaining something that sometimes MADE ME FEEL as if I had what I desired, rather than working toward actually HAVING what I desired. Until I started my real work. Okay, this is getting too long and I’ve gotta get my strength training in this morning. But I’ll finish tomorrow. I hope ! To the work! Have a great day on purpose, y'all!