Pressure Is Animal Magnetism

I love all the work that God has given me to do here in Plainfield, but occasionally I allow the enormity of it to start weighing on me. I am very grateful to be learning that pressure is animal magnetism, but sometimes I haven’t seen how to apply that statement practically so that I could put the feeling behind me.

For this, my practitioner has given me something that has helped immensely. She said, in effect, when you feel pressured or the need to rush, slow right down. It actually made me laugh the first time she said it to me, but in the months since, I have been applying this as a rule of thumb in every case.

As an example, this past week I woke one morning thinking of all that I had on my task list, and had this feeling I couldn’t get it done all in one day. I entertained this feeling for about 15 minutes, and then remembered her saying “slow right down.” I got up from my computer and grabbed a coffee and looked outside, thanking God for the day, and the sun, and all the beauty of the world. Then when it felt right, I started my work, just concentrating on one item at a time. Within four hours I finished the entire list of my tasks for the day, and then had time for even more work. It was awesome!

Not only has it been a helpful guideline, it has also shown me even more concretely how God gives us our work, and He knows exactly how much we can do each day. Only believing in a power apart from God would fool me to think otherwise. Slowing down, working to understand His allness, and my oneness with Him, has helped me to be both calmer and more productive.

I am so grateful for all this church offers, for practitioner support, and for the joy and purpose that comes from this work.