Hubby and I arrived back home from Rome after being up and going for over 28 hrs. straight. Thankfully it was nighttime by the time we made it home and we both fell exhausted into bed.
However … jetlag!
At 3am I was awake! (after only about 4 ½ hrs. of rest)
You can only lie in bed so long before you finally have to just get up. So, hubby and I were up and going at 4am.
There were suitcases to unpack … a big stack of mail to sort through. There was laundry to do. Loads of laundry to do, after being away for 2 weeks. Hubby and I set about our day of settling back into home.
However … jetlag! Halfway through the day our bodies were screaming at us for sleep. We were so tired!
But no “power naps” allowed! Not if we want to get over jetlag. The key to overcoming jetlag is to force yourself to stay on the new time zone, no matter what. We must stay up until at least 7pm.
Hubby and I were both foggy-headed and bleary-eyed as we dragged ourselves with dogged determination through the afternoon that seemed as if it would ever end. I kept doing load after load of laundry. As long as I was up on my feet staying active and busy the exhaustion didn’t seem so bad.
At one point, around 4:30pm hubby mentioned to me in passing how amazed he was at how well I was doing, considering it was 1:30am Rome time.
It was just a simple passing comment. But to my surprise it hit me like a blow! Looking back at what time it was where we had come from made the exhaustion suddenly feel so much weightier! Looking back at the time it was “supposed to be” made the effort of persevering seem so much harder.
As long as I didn’t know what time it was where we used to be, I was ok … because I was focusing on where I was right here, right now.
But as soon as I “glanced back” at where we used to be … the struggle was so much more intense to persevere where I was right now.
It was a mental battle!
In an effort to stay awake those last few hours and make it to 7pm I went outside. Fresh air and the great outdoors helps a ton when it comes to fighting jetlag and trying to stay awake.
Check it out! The daisies are blooming! They weren’t blooming before we left.
I do love daisies. What a fun surprise.
I wonder what that bright splash of color is back in the woods, underneath the plum tree?
Oh my goodness! It’s a whole patch of wildflowers I’ve never seen before! I wonder what kind they are?
These have never bloomed here before. This is the first year. I wonder if they might be from wildflower seeds I scattered several years back. I did scatter some seeds through here. But they never grew. Nothing ever came of it. I wonder if those seeds I scattered way back then are finally growing and blooming.
I guess there’s a spiritual lesson in that. Keep sowing seeds! (when it comes to loving other people and sharing the good news about Jesus Christ) You never know which seeds will sprout and grow.
Even if it doesn’t seem as if all that seed-sowing is doing any good or not, you never know that several years from now there might be a whole patch of beauty from “seeds” you forgot you even sowed there.
They are all different. Yet they somehow seem as if they are the same kind.
I wonder if the deep crimson flowers are actually the same as the white/brilliant pink. Do the flowers change colors to deep crimson as they reach the end of their life cycle. I don’t know.
I was so foggy-headed and bleary from jetlag I didn’t even bother to identify the flowers with my Seek Nature App. That will have to be a mystery to solve another day.
Oh my goodness! The bunchberry dogwoods have little clusters/bunches of red berries!! I had no idea!! That is the coolest thing ever! I guess that’s why they’re called: Bunchberry Dogwoods.
Usually the bunchberry dogwoods are always “mowed down” and eaten back to nothing by the deer. This is the first year the deer haven’t eaten them. This is the first year they have actually bloomed.
And check it out! Everywhere there was a bloom, little red berries are forming. Yay for bunchberry dogwoods … which actually have bunches of little red berries!
Getting outside and exploring nature is a wonderful way to stay awake when fighting jetlag!
Hubby and I made it to 7pm! And after all that effort, we slept straight through til 5am the next morning. Yay for that! It felt like a huge accomplishment!
When it comes to life, we all go through situations in life which feel a lot like fighting jetlag. We leave one place in life … and we “travel” to a completely different place in life. We leave one season of life … and we “travel” to a completely different season of life.
And it’s hard! It’s really hard to adjust from where we used to be … to where we are now.
We want to look back at where we used to be. Just like it is tempting to look back at the time in Rome where hubby and I used to be. Our bodies were adjusted to the time in Rome. That is what we were accustomed to.
But we aren’t in Rome anymore. We are here.
Here is completely different than Rome.
So too, when it comes to life, we leave one place/season of life and we find ourselves “travelling” to a completely different place/season of life. The shock of adjustment is hard. Our bodies are adjusted to the way it used to be. We are accustomed to the way it used to be.
But we aren’t in that former place anymore. We aren’t in that former season of life anymore. We are here.
Here is completely different.
If I were to continually focus on what time it is in Rome, I would never be able to adjust to this new time zone here, where I am now.
If I were to continually be “looking back,” the fatigue and exhaustion would be overwhelming and unbearable! If I were to continually be “looking back,” I would not have the mental strength or fortitude to overcome the discomfort … and be successful adjusting to life right here, right now.
The same thing is true when it comes to life. When we “travel” to a new and different place/season in life, if we continually “look back” we will never be able to adjust to here, where we are now.
If we continually “look back,” the sadness and nostalgia will be overwhelming and debilitating! If we continually “look back,” we will not have the mental strength or fortitude to overcome the discomfort … and be successful right here, right now … where God wants us to be.
It’s a mental battle.
Just like the key to my being able to fight jetlag and stay awake was to keep active and busy … so too, in the same way, the key to fighting “emotional jetlag” is to stay active and busy.
Just like it helped immensely for me to go outside, get fresh air, and explore my surroundings … so also, when it comes to “emotional jetlag” it helps immensely to get outside. Get fresh air. Explore the new surroundings.
Just like there were wonderful surprises of daisies and wildflowers waiting for me to discover (as I fought jetlag and tried to stay awake) … so also, there are wonderful life surprises waiting for each of us to discover as we fight “emotional jetlag” of major life change.
Just like the mystery of the unknown wildflowers growing back in the forest, which I can research at a later date … so also, there are mysteries of new things for us to research and learn about, as we overcome “emotional jetlag” of major life change.
Don’t look back.
The key to overcoming “emotional jetlag” of any major life change is to not look back. But rather … focus on right here, right now.
There are so many wonderful things right here, right now.
