One Day at a Time

I have been contemplating what causes stress in my life, and mostly it emerges when I don’t feel like I have things under control. What does “under control” really mean? Do I ever really have things under control anyway?


I can plan a personal project like hosting a party or a business matter like facilitating a meeting or gathering data to analyze the cash flow of a project, and while I can list things out and try to anticipate the amount of time it will require, it never seems to work out the way I planned. Sometimes it takes less time, but often it takes more time than expected.

Sometimes I feel I must do something at a certain time and day, but when things don’t turn out that way it doesn’t even seem to matter. What comes to mind when I consider this is the “need” to go to the grocery store. It seems I have it on my to do list for the day because I am out of everything, but then I don’t get the chance to go and somehow I always seem to pull a rabbit out of the hat and have something to make a nice meal at the end of the day.

So it seems I really didn’t need to go to the grocery store after all, but likely wanted to go because I was out of some favorite thing that I like to have on hand such as extra sharp cheddar cheese (Yum!). How often do we confuse wants with needs and plans as must follow agendas when sometimes the best things in life come without plans and when we focus less on our wants and more on what is around us already.

I remember so many times when I was at the bottom of the pantry one day, and didn’t have time (or didn’t want to make the time) to go to the grocery and the I fixed Blue Runner red beans with rice and a vegetable on the side. This is now one of my family’s favorite meals. It is such a simple and quick meal to fix and now has come to symbolize comfort food in my home.

I pray ….

That I allow plans to exist, but not dictate,
That I allow life to happen instead of worrying about what will happen next,
That I allow my needs to be the focus rather than my wants,
That I can escape the stress by yielding to rather than trying to control,
And that I always live each day with a sense of joy.

Talk to you again soon,

Eileen