Gently Kissed by the Sun: All it Takes for Me to Burn

Interesting series of events today: went jogging in Piedmont Park today with a friend from high school who, despite all the parks in Gwinnett wanted to travel to Piedmont Park and jog. Still, it's a pretty park, and I really enjoyed running around the pier and over the bridges. Well, after this little jog and lunch at Mellow Mushroom (Note: the Caesar!Caesar! Pizza is REALLY good!), I got in a running kick and went another 2 miles back at home solo. And now, thanks to my melatonic deficiences (aka being Germanic-Scotch-Irish) I got burned. Not painfully burned, but just enough for me to feel it. I tell people I come in two varieties: Original Recipe or Extra Crispy.

This week has been stressed, but it was so much easier than last week... Last week's Dance Competition took an AWFUL lot out of me... I needed to stay at work until at least 5 everyday for practice, the stress of not having choreography until the day before the competition kept my blood pressure up, too. I kept trying to NOT think about it during the day, but it was always in the back of my mind.

However, I read something that captured my attention... humorously, it's a common theme that I've been running into the past month (Sidenote: running into a common theme over and over again is the topic of 'Sacred Echoes' by Margaret Feinburg, which I have recently purchased, but have yet to read.) One book that I am reading through right now is 'Deadly Viper: Character Assassins' by Mike Foster and Jud Wilhite. It essentially personifies different types of character flaw 'traps' that can grow into major problems (such as someone to rationalizing it's ok to borrow a little money from a company credit card, and eventually saying its ok to pad their bank accounts with company funds). These personified flaws become various ninja assassins (with somewhat cartoon-y names) who are bent on 'kicking your butt'. The format feels silly to me, but there are kernels I have been getting out of it. In Chapter Four, entitled, 'The Assassin of the Headless Sprinting Chicken', I read the following:

I am responsible to lead myself, to ensure that I'm resting, learning, growing, and bringing my very best to the job every day. I'm the only one who knows what my emotional, physical, and spiritual gauges are telling me and I've got to listen to them. I am responsible for my own self-care, growth, and development.

Whoa. That's always been a big issue with me. I burn out. I think I'm being responsible by taking on the world, but this whole concept of me BEING RESPONSIBLE BY NOT TAKING ON EXTRA RESPONSIBILITIES and forcing myself to take life slower is something I never really considered. Did I know it's a good idea to take a break? Sure. But did I ever think of it as the RESPONSIBLE decision? Not so much...

I could go on, but I'm tired, I've lost an hour of sleep due to daylight savings, and my brother is visiting, so I'm out. Later!