overdue thinking
Monday December 12, 7:00 am
Nia notices two library books resting on the ottoman. She knows they were due yesterday. In her scramble to save face and avoid fallibility she advises, “We can hop in truck and pop them through the return slot before the library opens! They’ll never know we didn’t drop them off yesterday.” She does a quick search and discovers the library opens at 9:00 am. “Chop, chop!”
“Orrrrrr —,” Thalia rolled her eyes and took a long drink from her mug, “We can go to the library later today, confess our sin, and pay the fine. What’s it gonna cost Typist… a dollar? And, we can renew them!”
“Both options have their merit.” Calliope tapped her lips with an index finger. “I’m leaning toward Nia’s suggestion this time though… We’ve already been up for hours. We’ll drop off the books… get Henny’s daily field trip taken care of… breathe a little fresh air… then come home and play with pencils… If we haven’t finished the books in three weeks, it’s time to let them go.”
“Alright,” said Tal. “But just to be clear… It’s totally okay that we’re a day late returning the books. Perfection is so dull — and mistakes are so interesting.”
What story are you telling yourself?
Hi Muses plus Typist! Did Henny have a great outing? Why have you already been up for hours??
Reader tries unsuccessfully to ignore Nia’s proposed subterfuge. I didn’t think a stickler for details would blithely bend a rule.😮 😬 Shows ya what I know.🤷🏽
I’ve been up since 6:05 and have yet to bend any rules! 👼🏻 That’s just one of the stories I’m telling myself on this fine day.
“...save face and avoid fallibility...” Wow! Would I ever do that? A friend used to say, “I thought I was a perfectionist but that took too much effort. I realized I just wanted to look like a perfectionist.” Perhaps Nia wanted to avoid the appearance of fallibility? “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” Sir Walter Scott.
The 10th Step of the AA program of recovery says, “We continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.” 🤔 There doesn’t seem to be a provision for taking Nia’s inventory! Sorry, Nia. 😔
“What story are you telling yourself?”
~Typist
Answering this one question in multiple areas of our lives could be the difference between embracing change and remaining the same.
It’s the story we tell ourselves about things that determines almost everything...
Often, it’s just the first part of the phrase that sets the tone for whatever comes next...
I always... I never... I am... I believe... I think...
Here are some others...
I wonder... What if? Up until now... Now that I know... I am so grateful now that I... Just for today...
What story will YOU write today? What ending will you give it?
“When writing the story of your life, don’t let anyone else hold the pen.” ~Harley Davidson.