When life gets tough, when great disappointments endure or perhaps failed relationships get rocky, we may come to a place where dismay is so great that we are inclined to do just enough to get by. Anything more seems too much trouble. There is a wonderful, eye-twinkling Yiddish word that comes to mind when I think about this place…the word is schlepp. Even the sound of it makes you want to smile, maybe even snicker a little. There is, of course the infinitive form of the verb, to schlepp. Then there is the active form of the verb, schlepping, often accompanied by an adverb, the word, along, so one does not simply schlepp , one is schlepping or schlepps along, all of which wraps up the whole idea of telling a good story, but not doing a whole lot.
Are we not stealing from ourselves......
Silliness aside, there is a serious element to just “getting by.” If we persist in getting by long enough, there can be a certain amount of theft taking place, maybe not so much involving other people, but actual theft from ourselves. Are we not stealing from ourselves when we do not make the effort to do a thing well, to the best of our abilities? Do we not see time dribbling by when we make minimal effort, almost using our energies by default? No care, no concern, no investment of ourselves?
Life can become more of a sigh....
Things, situations and circumstances die from just “getting by.” They die from lack…lack of love, lack of interest, lack of commitment, lack of genuine engagement. Life can become more of a sigh than anything else, and there is sadness in this. Not only are we not spending our capital wisely, we are wasting a lot of love and concern that could be coming our way.
Is this as good as it gets?
Maybe we could think seriously about the question: Is this as good as it gets? It never is, but there needs to be a place in us that sees...
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