Our plans don’t always go according to…well…plan. Speed bumps, detours, and roadblocks can get in our way. On this episode we’ll explore how to recognize them for what they are, and work with these disruptions to make our plans actually happen
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Rhythm of Life – Light and Air, Revisited
Tune-up Tip – Cholesterol May Not Be the Problem After All
Feature Segment – Promises, Detours, and Roadblocks
Today’s Quote
Establishing goals is all right if you don't let them deprive you of interesting detours. — Doug Larson
Rhythm of Life – Light and Air Revisited
In episode 073, I told you about bringing light and air to my plants as I trimmed, clipped, and weeded. And the importance of light and air in our lives, too. Today I saw another aspect of light and air – laughter.
Life feels so heavy sometimes, doesn’t it? That’s why taken aback when I read this by Brennan Manning: “Am I getting too serious about life? In the hurly-burly of the marketplace have I let my childlike sense of wonder fade?….. Is living just another word for endurance?”
What does laugher do? It brings physical and emotional benefits. Laughter is a form of light and air.
Is life feeling heavy to you? Give yourself some light and air. It’ll help you do more than endure. It’ll help you LIVE.
Tune-Up Tip – Cholesteral May NOT Be the Problem After All
Headline news from Time magazine: a new drug lowers Risk of Heart Attack and Cancer.
It turns out that cholesterol isn’t the only thing you have to worry about to keep your heart healthy. In recent years, doctors have started to focus on inflammation as an important contributor to a heart attack. A drug they tested reduced inflammation, and also repeat heart attacks.
But here’s the thing. The article makes it sound like the news about inflammation is new. But it isn’t. The earliest article I found on this topic on Dr. Mercola website was dated May 28, 2005!
Inflammation actually trying to heal the artery’s injury It’s the same as getting a cut. The problem is when it’s inside the artery, your body sends extra blood and clots it to try and heal the area.
Rather than waiting until it’s a crisis and you need medication, how about preventing or calming inflammation in the first place? Your diet can have a huge impact on inflammation. Especially sugar and processed foods that turn quickly to sugar. Other causes: poor sleep, stress, over- or under-exercising. All add to inflammation, which leads to not only heart attack and stroke, but a host of other issues – crohn’s, diabetes, migraines, thyroid issues, auto-immune conditions, chronic pain.
Eliminating or sharply reducing these is challenging in our society. There are a few ways to improve your chances for success. You can also take my online course to help with that. It’s called Find Beauty in EVERYday. Check it out.
Feature Segment – Promises, Detours, and Roadblocks
I’ve heard a passage from Jeremiah about God’s plan to prosper me for most of my life. Yet life doesn’t always look like blessing.
We talked in Episode 073 about difference between plans and prescriptions, as well as pitfalls and pivots. I also wrote in a blog post about unreasonable expectations and how that affects our attitude.
In her book “The Gifts of Imperfection” Brene Brown talks about the place of gratitude, especially when plans don’t go according to plan. What causes that? Well, besides trying to create a prescription where you really need a plan, and not anticipating the pitfalls, there’s just STUFF. Things happen. You know. Detours. And roadblocks. I call them delayed blessing.
Detours can be long. Or there can be several strung together. Sometimes you can even forget where the path was – or why you were on it. An example of that is in the Bible after God sprung the Israelites from Egypt. Although the trip to the Promised Land should have taken 11 days, it took 40 years. Here’s a link to read more about it and a map.
What should you do when you encounter detours?
- Watch for signs.
- Enjoy the scenery.
- Don’t confuse a detour with permanent route change.
- When lost, ask for directions.
- Don’t get discouraged.
What about roadblocks? What’s different about them? They’re more permanent. Keep in mind that there are some things that look like roadblocks and aren’t. They’re more like speed bumps. They can be overcome. Real roadblocks stop you completely.
They key to dealing with roadblocks is to
- Recognize as roadblock vs. detour or speed bump.
- Grieve the loss.
- Decide to get moving again.
- Lighten the load.
Plans don’t always come when we expect. Not right away. Sometimes we encounter many roadblocks and detours. In fact, do you know someone experiencing a roadblock or detour right now? Share this episode with them. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.