On the Cusp

I am on the cusp of busyness.

I think I am on the cusp of a new life altogether.

And this is becoming slightly less scary to me these days.

I now have work to do beyond endless pages of reading. I will soon be asked to produce original thought and to describe it well with the written word. I will have to stop choosing live television over the articles I need to read because, well, I will not have time to make up for that choice later. I will have to stop taking naps that I don't need, and that probably aren't good for me because, well, this is the life I have chosen and I am right now choosing to do it well.

Last week I met a handful of new people who aren't in my department and I enjoyed them. I allowed myself to just enjoy them. This graduate school experience has been so jolting, so disorienting, that I reacted initially by withdrawing. And I judged people harshly - You're not made of the stuff I want my friends to be made of. You drink too much. You don't know how to be serious. You're just trying to impress everyone around you, rather than learning. But this last week, I came out of my shell. I decided to like people again. I decided to live like I'm going to be here for awhile. And now I have people to do things with. And I am already happier.

I have also decided to take some steps to make sure I am more healthy physically and spiritually. A couple of years ago someone recommended to me that I take an hour of the 24 each day to ensure both of those kinds of health. What does that mean? Well, for now, I think it means I'm going to get up at a normal hour, go for a half hour walk (or maybe run, eventually), then spend half an hour with God. I know, I know. It sounds a little prescribed. It is. But there's something to be said for discipline, and I'm severely lacking it in both my physical and spiritual lives. So I'm going to try this plan out. And you should ask me about it now and again so I have some motivation to keep at it.