I smashed the snot out of a housefly on my kitchen window sill the other morning. After I did, I thought how undeserving was the poor innocent insect of my anger and frustration over his incessant buzZzZzZing. (Seems we can decide a lot about a human being's tolerance level when s/he's sharing a room with a pesky fly.)
I was processing a separate frustration at the time and definitely took revenge on the poor little guy ... God rest his fly soul. The garbage disposal had to hurt.
On a larger scale, I had an unproud moment during an email argument with a newspaper reporter the other night. Although I know better, I had not "cooled my jets" before hitting 'send' and INSISTED HE "TAKE IT OUT" AS I YELLED AT HIM IN CAPITAL LETTERS ... referring to untrue words in his story about my nonprofit organization's (
Promotion Center for Little Italy
) statement concerning the
4th of July Columbus statue incident.
Who are you lashing out at these days? It is no secret that as life feels abnormal, tempers are higher, frustration tolerances are lower, fuses are shorter, and arguments go longer. People seem grumpier, on edge, and more judgmental.
So we take out our bad moods and frustrations on an innocent fly ... or a customer service rep on the phone ... by yelling at the kids, nipping at the mail carrier, bickering with a spouse, mouthing off on social media, etc.
It's been a looney rushed week in my office since I manage social media and communications for Little Italy, plus trying to get my new book's layout proofed by deadline Monday; so after poolside yoga here last night, I invited the six neighbors who were in class to "step onto my deck" to share a glass of vino. They stayed 3.5 hours; we "
Namastayed"
into the night! We laughed off our buttocks, told stories, shared backgrounds, drank a few bottles of wine, and Hubs and our son delivered us an order of yummy tacos. The few hours of laughter allowed us to let off a little Thursday night steam. (I am still chuckling over the name "Tommy 9-Toes" from one of the funnier stories.)
Like we plug an electrical cord into an outlet to power a laptop, a blender, or a hair dryer, so must we find outlets to release tension and stress. Without our normal routines and social activity these days, it's easy to feel frustrated, impatient, irritable, and even sad.
So ... what do
you
need to plug into? What's your outlet? Physical, creative, soulful, mindful ...
Find a friend, make each other laugh, sweat it out in the gym, take a good hike, meditate, paint something, walk the dog, vent in your journal, make love, craft a project, swim laps, ride your bike, sit quietly in your garden, go to church, play a mindless game on your phone, lift weights, watch a comedy, take a run, use a coloring book, dance to the music, hit golf balls, take a candle-lit bath, do yoga.
Find your outlet but let's stop smashing the innocent flys.
