Please don't shake my jar! (see blog 8/6/06)

Did you read the "Time Management" blog from a few days ago? If not, take a sec to do so or you won't understand a bit of what I'm going to say, ok?

I've finally found the analogy that fits my recent stream of thoughts. Lets examine the mason jar theory, shall we? Back home I had my jar arranged just the way I wanted it. The big rocks, gravel, sand, water, etc. were exactly how I wanted them to be. Somehow during the 3 day drive from Missouri to Arizona, my jar was shaken. That's right, someone, something, I'm not sure what, picked it up and vigorously shook it.

What this analogy has shown me is that right now I'm trying to swim around in murky water. I swim one direction and slam my face into the side of the jar. I turn around and swim the other direction and the same things happens. I've been struggling since the first day I arrived in Arizona to find the contents of my jar, but everything is murky. When waters are murky, swimming around fast and bumping into things over and over just stirs it up more (and creates a headache). For now, I need to be content with just treading water.

Now don't get me wrong, I still have my family, friends, values and all of that other stuff. Everything is still in the jar, I just can't see clearly. I realized this week that things can't/won't get better until the jar rests and things settle back down. Only then will I be able to arrange things in the jar like I want them to be.

Somedays I wish I could wear a sign around my neck that warns, "Please...don't shake my jar." Truth is, the culprit is really me. Yep, I shook my own jar.