Monday. Ahhhh! 🙂
How many times have you heard me say I love Mondays? The promise of a new week, a fresh start, and a new page… the phrases may be clichés, but they’re all true… for me.
The problem is, not everyone feels this way. My exuberance can be grating for others.
Some people barely hang on through a week, desperately awaiting the arrival of Friday and a weekend break. When faced with the next Monday they heave sighs of resignation and begin the week’s countdown again.
It’s not just because of their ‘glass half full, or glass half empty’ outlook. For many people, life is filled with physical challenges, work-related stress and family anxieties. Or maybe it’s page after page on their calendar where every square is marked with a meeting, or some kind of church or parental commitment. Mondays mean returning to another round on the proverbial hamster’s wheel… the rodent’s version of a treadmill that goes on and on and never gets anywhere.
I’ve been there, but I admit to still loving my Mondays. It’s not that my calendar is totally empty now, despite being retired. Some days I still feel overwhelmed by life’s commitments, but I’ve learned to balance.
One year, somewhere between being a pastor’s wife, mother of four, owner/manager of a business and a member of various church and community organizations, I discovered the necessity of self preservation. Yes, God provides me with the resources to do all that He has commissioned, but He also created me human, not divine. I’m made with a body, mind and soul. My spiritual and mental selves need regular nourishment. My physical self needs certain things to function well, too, and my brain periodically has to step up and tell me when I’m depriving myself of those things.
A little TLC may feel self-indulgent, but it’s remarkable how the stability of my emotional and physical self tips precariously when I ignore the well being of any of my components. I believe God expects me to take care of this vessel he created as his dwelling place, and to find the appropriate balance for my unique life. That balance has changed through the years, but in conjunction with time spent in God’s company, time spent in solitude has remained important.
Mondays are evaluation opportunities, chances to sort out the new week, its commitments, and my responsibilities. Beyond that, sometimes Mondays are do-absolutely-nothing days, sometimes they are full-to-the-brim days. Whatever they bring, Mondays are when I go into survival mode and make the choice of how I will cope with the rest of that week.
“When you have to make a choice and don’t make it,
that is in itself a choice.”
William James
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What affects your attitude about Mondays? Do you have a favourite day of the week? If you sometimes feel you’re balancing precariously what do/can you do to restore stability?
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“My soul, be at rest in God alone, from whom comes my hope.”
Psalm 62:6
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MUSINGS 
A Monday is one seventh of a life of any human being, to dismiss that, or any other day is to wipe out a large amount of a life.
I have mixed feelings about Mondays. For one, it takes away from my sleep, and boy do I love to sleep. Of course each work day does that, but Monday starts it all. On the other, it gives me peace and quiet which I cannot get at home. My family is incredibly noisy, so getting away for half of the day makes me feel somewhat relaxed.
My favourite days of the week are Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I feel at my best during those. =]
God commanded that we keep one-seventh of our time for rest, recuperation, rejuvenation, and contemplation of Him. He gave us the pattern for balance which you have so beautifully expressed. It is all a state of mind, of perspective. If we see our Monday as the beginning of our service to the Lord each week, how can we not rejoice in it?
OH, and I love the jay! You have a picture of my own precarious balance in that bird.
Carol, lovely photos as always. Great post. It prods me to the time when TGIF was a big deal. But the part of my life where the squares on the calendar dictated my moods or expectations have become but a memory. For the first time in my adult life I can see all the squares filled in with one to-do on my list. I can write every day and that is a gift I never knew I would have … the gift of time 🙂
I liked your post today – – I actually started today by writing down five things I need to do this week, in no particular order. I’m finding it hard to get into a rythym since retiring from my “paying ” job several months ago. I like the idea of starting with a clean slate on Monday:)
Thanks to shiftwork, Mondays don’t have any particular significance in my schedule (neither do weekends, really). But then again, Monday is my DH’s day off, so it sometimes means coffee dates or lunch dates with him, which is a pretty nice thing on any day!
It is so nice to meet another person who loves Mondays as much as I do. Many of my friends think I am weird. I have always had jobs I loved so perhaps that is why I look forward to Monday. I love the start of anything: a holiday, a project, a story etc…
When it comes to my schedule, I rely on my Task List. It keeps me on track.
How I feel about Mondays varies from week to another. If I’m facing a grueling week, I jump in and tackle it. On an ordinary week, I’ll take one day at a time. Otherwise, I can end up wishing my life away.
My comment didn’t stick. Darn. Because I’m sure I said something brilliant. Okay, maybe a little short of that. Something about loving days that end in DAYS. Like my neighbour, 91-year-old, a poet, Ida Cutler used to say. Every day I wake up is a good day.
It seems, like Zen, we all have mixed feelings about our Mondays. I do like Joylene’s neighbour’s comment about any day we wake up being a good day! Attitude plays a big part in how we view our work and leisure time, doesn’t it?
I think my favourite days of the week are the ones that end in “DAY”.
I left a comment yesterday, but it disappeared. Go figure. Maybe the comment-monster ate it? Or the dog did? Anyway, big cyberhugs to you, young lady.
Oops, my comment did stick. Oh well.