We have a pool in our back yard and the majority of the maintenance is my responsibility. Once or twice a week I grab my iPod and spend almost an hour or so vacuuming the pool. Sometimes it frustrates me because there are other things I need to be doing, but usually I'm okay with it.
When I first started using my iPod while I vacuumed I thought I would dance a bit and turn it into a sort of exercise time. Sometimes I do that but it has actually become very therapeutic.
With my earbuds in I go into a whole different world through any of the 1300 songs that may come up. Some are Brazilian, some are eclectic, some are from my youth, some remind me of past lives. Many have Christian lyrics that I find inspirational and redeeming.
The songs take me through a wealth of emotions as I work out solutions to problems, contemplate regrets, and attempt to face fears about the future. I've learned to keep a tissue in my pocket because I usually wind up crying. I cry for relief at hearing how much God loves me in spite of..., I cry for frustration of regrets I can never change, and I cry in response to fear of things to come and probably I cry for 199 other reasons which I am not psychologically adept enough to identify.
All I know is, it feels like therapy and it's a lot cheaper. (Well, total pool operation budget not included, just hour for hour.) When I go back inside I feel refreshed and renewed. When I have the summer off it is easy to attend these therapy sessions. Once I go back to work it becomes a little more challenging, but even still when I use precious weekend time for this activity I often feel an impending loss at the thought that soon we will cover the pool up for the winter.
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