Such is Holy Week. We want so badly to celebrate the Resurrection at Easter, but we feel overcome with the passion and trial of the days leading from Palm Sunday through Good Friday. This season signals—around the world—time for reflection. During Holy Week, we move—day by day—from sadness to enthusiasm. From the valley of darkness to the tunnel of light. And that entails conflict.
Many of us feel conflicted these days. Overall, general “conflictedness.” The war in Iraq might be bogging us down in one way or another; college acceptance and rejection letters might be cause for overall malaise or even panic; and figuring out the calendar for summer activities for your kids in light of your own schedule might be more than you can emotionally handle.
I’ve been unusually conflicted lately. I’ll most likely be re-entering the official workforce in the next few weeks or months, and I’ve been interviewing, taking tests and talking with lots of different folks from varied areas of the work-world in an effort to nail down what I should be doing with myself, professionally, for the next oh, twenty years or so. A huge decision. We’re trying to figure out how to transition from having a mom in the home to having one gone during the day; how to shuffle kids to various activities without a mom-chauffeur yet with a new teen driver on our roster; and yet how to deal with the financial reality of multiple college tuition bills for most of the foreseeable future which, in and of itself is enough to cause discomfort. Perhaps my family just has too many balls in the air. Too many unanswered questions. Too many variables in the equation.
Yet as I look around, I see so many others facing conflict and discomfort. I cannot go one week without receiving an email or a phone call from a reader whose family member is struggling with one problem or another. Financial problems, health concerns, relationship issues. Most of us hate being uncomfortable. We hate conflict. Hate uncertainty. Hate dealing with the struggle in order to celebrate the victory. And yet that’s the real lesson of Holy Week.
However tempting it is to focus your thoughts and energies this week on the celebration of Easter—on resurrection and renewal—I hope that you allow yourself some quiet time to sort out the conflicts and discomforts of Maundy Thursday and of Good Friday. To focus on the sacrifice. For as you grow more fully aware of the sacrifice that Christ made on your behalf, you will gain immeasurable joy at the power of the Resurrection.
And if you are of another faith, please be sensitive to the fact that this week brings with it introspection for millions of people around the world. Passover will be celebrated by Jews and they will have rituals and holy remembrances, too.
So as tempting as it is when you’re in discomfort, confused…or just in a funk…to focus on spring’s lightheartedness and brightness, on chicks and on chocolate, remember that for a few days anyway, it’s not about that. It’s not about the bunnies. Even though, I admit, they’re taking up inordinate amounts of windowsill and tabletop real estate in my own home these days, and as much as they emotionally lift me out of the doldrums of winter, out of my own confusion and state of disequilibrium and into the sublime celebration of spring, they have little to do with the days ahead of us this week.
Go ahead and splurge on chocolate and on baskets. On flowers for your home or in a new outfit or on travel. This is a time for celebration, to be sure, come Easter Day. But allow yourself in the next few days, to internalize the conflict of Holy Week. It is one time of year when your internal struggle should be palpable. For we cannot get to Easter, to victory, without coming to grips with the sacrifice of Good Friday. Throughout life, we cannot get to true celebration without coming to grips with life’s struggle.
Until next week,
Carolina
A Quick Note
Thank you to rocket mom, Serena, who emailed me with these fun statistics after reading last week’s Newsletter.
• If shop mannequins were real women, they'd be too thin to menstruate.
• There are 3 billion women who don't look like supermodels and only eight who do.
• Marilyn Monroe wore a size 14.
• If Barbie was a real woman, she'd have to walk on all fours due to her proportions.
• The average American woman weighs 144 lbs. and wears between a size 12 and 14.
• One out of every four college aged women has an eating disorder.
• The models in the magazines are airbrushed-they're not perfect!!
• A psychological study in 1995 found that three minutes spent looking at models in a fashion magazine caused 70% of women to feel depressed, guilty, and shameful.
• Models twenty years ago weighed 8% less than the average woman, today they weigh 23% less.
(http://www.randiwortman.com/stats.html)
Resources:
• Body image, Date of access: 13 Jul. 2005
• Hartline, Christine MA. Dying to Fit In- Literally! Learning to Love Our Bodies and Ourselves Date of access: 13 Jul. 2005.
• Lightstone, Judy. Improving Body Image Date of access: 13 Jul. 2005.
• Maynard, Cindy MS, RD. Body Image Date of access: 13 Jul. 2005.
• Surprising Stats and Facts Date of access: 13 Jul. 2005.
• Size and Self-Acceptance for Achieving Healthy Weight Date of Access: 11 Jul. 2005.
• Weight and Body Image: A Problem for Boys and Girls of All Races Date of access: 11 Jul. 2005
• Women’s Body Image Date of access: 13 Jul. 2005. http://www.wellesley.edu/Health/BodyImage/
A Rocket Mom Society Note
The next meeting is a spring Make-n-Take here at the Mother Ship. We’ll be planting bulbs in decorative containers for beautiful tabletop centerpieces. Start going through your favorite containers and come ready for a night of fellowship, food and fun. Bring a friend! Please RSVP so that I can get an accurate head count.
Rocket Mom in the News
Do you struggle with self-sabotaging habits that you’ve tried to break over and over again only to find yourself fighting them well, over and over again? Pick up a copy of this month’s (April) Redbook magazine and read Charlotte Latvala’s article in which my advice is given to readers. Her article, “Make over your bad habits!” deals with everything from impatience to sleeping late. See how yours truly struggles with these issues, too.
