Fully Awake or Half-Asleep
Has life become too comfortable?
Introduction
My life has been pretty uncomfortable in recent weeks as I learn a new job for the same employer. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, I developed a serious reaction to poison ivy. Well, if I was half-asleep in life before, I am fully awake now. Please join me as I ponder the question of being fully awake or half-asleep.
A Minute of Motivation
Comfort Zones
Your comfort zone is the area of your life in which you can function without taking any risks. Comfort zones can be large and provide a variety of “safe” experiences, or they can be very small and cramped. Regardless of the size of your comfort zone, it is still a limit, and, if you move beyond it, you will feel scared. To live within your comfort zone is to do those things you feel very certain you can do and in which you feel secure. To grow as a person, you will need to stretch yourself outside of the secure, yet limited, boundaries of your comfort zone. You will need to do things you’ve never done before, to risk in ways you’ve not risked before.
To stretch yourself is to expand your comfort zone so there are more experiences with which you feel comfortable. If you go where you do not feel comfortable but where you would like to be, you will learn to feel comfortable there. Perhaps it’s time to get up and stretch?
Note. Originally published in 1992.
Enjoy Life More
Fully Awake
I am recovering from a terrible case of poison ivy. My skin, which I typically ignore, was inflamed with horrible red and itchy patches. It’s better today, which is good, because I was about to lose what little I had left of my sanity.
Ever been sleeping really soundly and an attack of pain or itching awakens you? Yeah, try to go back to sleep then. I have never been so awake as a few times in recent days when my itching, poison-afflicted skin was screaming at me.
In the middle of these days and nights of torment I have been searching for the lesson in it all. Besides trying not to curse God (following the example of Job), I began to wonder what else this itching might teach me.
For one, I have realized how amazing my skin is! After five days of being under assault, the beautiful recovery process is clearly unfolding. And it feels wonderful! I am awe-inspired by the healing process. And so very, very grateful.
Suffering can be useful. Like poison ivy, discomfort can awaken us. Perhaps we have been half-asleep, taking something important for granted. If you are suffering right now, I invite you to seek the lesson in the suffering. What might the pain be teaching you?
Faith Corner
“It’s time to wake up!” (see Romans 13:11)
Are you fully awake or half-asleep? In Paul’s letter to the people of Rome, written two thousand years ago, he told them it was time to wake up from their slumber. Why? Paul said “salvation was nearer now than when we first believed.”
I can’t know what Paul meant when he described the “slumber” of the Romans. However, when I look at the comfortable way most of us live in modern times, it looks like sleep-walking to me. Sure, we’re alive, but are we living? Fully living?
To be fully alive is to be fully awake to the reality of God working all around us. Sometimes it takes a sudden illness or accident to awaken us from our comfortable slumber. Or maybe it’s a financial shift or a life circumstance change. We can’t sleep-walk when the path ahead is unclear or rocky.
Dear Lord, thank You for bringing change into my life and awakening me from my slumber. Help me to look to You, with eyes awake and wide open, and see the wonderful ways You are working in and around me. Thank You for jolting me from my complacency. There is more of me to be, more ways for me to grow and give. Help me stay awake and enjoy each day You have made for me and made me for. Amen.
Poetry Pause
ME
There’s no one like me –
No one.
I am a unique creation.
There is a destiny within me
That only I can fulfill,
And, if I don’t do it,
It won’t be done.
The world is better because I’m here.
I have a special role that only I can fill.
By being more of me
I will feel more alive,
The lives I touch
Will be my trademark,
By their growth
I will never be forgotten.
I matter.
I am important.
I am me.
The only ME there is.
By Cindy MacGregor, date unknown.
Note. I wrote this poem at least 30 years ago. I included it here because of the phrase: “by being more of me I will feel more alive.”
Old Mom to Young Mom
Zone of Proximal Development
I am teaching a new class this semester, namely, Educational Psychology. Most of the students are third-year education majors, preparing to be teachers. We recently studied Vgotsky’s theory of child development. An important concept of his theory is the zone of proximal development, or ZPD.
So, you’re probably laughing a bit about that name. The zone of proximal development is the abilities the child hasn’t quite mastered but could with adult assistance. Adults are advised to challenge the child beyond what the child is easily able to do, provide support, and then withdraw that support when the child’s ability has advanced to the new level.
Tasks that are impossible for the child, even with assistance, are to be avoided. The level of challenge should be within the “zone” – with temporary support so the child can stretch their abilities.
Vgotsky wouldn’t recommend helicopter parenting, doing things for the child long past the child’s need for help. That’s too comfortable for the child; development is impaired by a lack of challenge. A little struggle is a good thing.
Dear Dr. Mac
I love trying to be wise. With degrees in psychology and leadership, I have a lot of advice to offer. some of it might even be good. If you would like to hear what I think about something, please send an email to: drcjmacgregor@outlook.com; I will respond via email or in this section of a future newsletter, or both. I hope to hear from you!