I spent the morning working on the deck on the north side of the house. When I started, it was about seventy-five degrees outside in the shade. By ten o’clock, we were in the eighties and well on own way to a predicted heat index of a hundred-and-one. My occasional bits of work in the un-shaded parts soon had my clothes soaked with sweat. I took a couple of short breaks, elevated the leg that is still plagued by after-effects of a massive blood clot from three years ago, and drank a half-gallon of water.

In spite of all that, by early afternoon, I was feeling the heat, so to speak. Seemed like a good time to head over to the college and turn in the paperwork from my last couple of conference trips. The idea of not being reimbursed can lead me to surprising degrees of compliance and cooperation.

Another idea that occurred to me was that I could go to the Wellness Center at Highland and get in a good forty-five minute workout while I was there. So, I packed my gym stuff into my gym bag and headed over.

As I finished up the paperwork and delivered it, I became more and more aware of the messages my body was sending me: slight headache, quasi-queasy feeling in my stomach and that sort of tiredness that seems a bit like sickness. I figured I could push through all that, do my workout and increase the odds of opportunity for the Wellness Center staff and local EMT squad to put their first aid training to good use.

Or, and this is the one I chose, I could listen to my body and not provoke it into outright rebellion.

There are times in life when determination can lead us to greater accomplishment, greater achievement and greater satisfaction. There are other times when it can lead us to wrecked marriages, damaged relationships and devastated lives.

I’d like to think that not every experience I’ve had in life has failed to engender some measure of insight and understanding. But I’m also still aware that cowardice and laziness often mask themselves as discretion. Some of these distinctions require the wisdom that comes from above, that is first of all pure and peaceful.

H. Arnett
6/19/12