Ophélie Lechat

When I was six years old, my aunt took me to Disney World.  We drove down from Montreal with three other people.  I had to eat many kinds of vegetables and fruit every day, but once that was done, I could indulge at the ice cream bar as much as I pleased.

One night, I made the sundae to rule all sundaes.  This thing was huge: chocolate ice cream, sprinkles, cherries, caramel sauce.  Six year-old me couldn’t finish half of it.  I got a stern lesson that night about biting off more than I could chew.

It’s been a good while since, but I’m finding that lesson valuable right now.

There are things I need: regular yoga classes, time to write in my journal with a cup of tea, time to grab coffee with friends, time to knit and listen to the radio.  When I start thinking that I’m invincible and that I don’t need these things, that I can volunteer, work, tutor, help, learn instead, I rob myself of that time.  I begin to have mini anxiety attacks, I don’t sleep well, my arms shake during yoga practice.

I think it’s time to pare down to the work I love, the work I’m great at, and to withdraw myself from the rest.

I was reading an article tonight about manifestations of the emotional self being expressed by the body.  (When did I turn into such a hippie?)  I realized that my anxiety attacks, my less-than-ideal communications and my restless nights have a source.

That tattoo on my arm, the one that says “knowledge is power”?  It applies to knowledge of myself, too.  I need to keep that in mind now.