Object Lesson

Sherlock Holmes had his pipe. Dorothy had her red shoes. Batman had his Batmobile. If we asked your friends what object they most immediately associate with you, what would they answer?

If any object could be described as my “signature” object, it would have to be a cup of coffee. Rarely would you find me without a cup sitting by my side, at until mid-morning. But unlike a fictional character who only drinks coffee grown in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica from their custom designed coffee cup, nothing about my coffee habits would strike anyone as distinctly “Susan”.

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Expectations

I am not bi-polar or clinically depressed. I don’t suffer from panic attacks or excessive fears. But there are days like yesterday where I feel like the world is pressing down on me, crushing me into the ground.

Need vs. Want

I find myself caught between “I want” and “I need.” Let me explain. There are things in life that people want to do. Goals they have set and checked off with the same exhilaration they might feel crossing milk and cheese off their grocery list. I see wants as those bucket list items that people feel compelled to accomplish before they, well, kick the bucket. They include also sorts of things: wild, adventurous, outrageous things. Places to see, people to meet, things to try. Like skydiving. How many people add skydiving to their bucket list because they really want the thrill of jumping out of an airplane (and hope the shoot opens), or is on the list because it gives them some sort of bragging rights? Would their life feel incomplete if that item never gets crossed off?