I've been thinking lately about what's underneath the surface in terms of maintaining health. It's one thing to have a seemingly healthy exterior. Maybe your car has been recently washed or you've just gotten your nails freshly painted...but maybe underneath the shiny exterior is a broken heart needing attention or a car battery that is in desperate need of replacing.
It is tempting to go about our lives letting the under things get overlooked. Sometimes it's that we just don't want to go there...to the ugly, rusty, broken, shame laden places. I'm realizing that it's much better, more efficient and wise in the long term to take care of these issues as they arise.
A few examples from this week alone: my car is now 3 years old. I bought it new and had not replaced the battery yet. After work the other night, it wouldn't start. I got a jump and drove home but when I went to go start it again, nothing...it needed a new battery of course and it was time for such a thing...but understanding regularly scheduled maintance of things under the hood of my vehicle is not something I am entirely privy to but could be. No judgment there...just an observation. Everything was fine...I got my new battery and now my car runs just as before...but it did get me thinking about machinery.
This is the same or at least a similar story with my computer. With barely any space on the hard drive, I'm needing to free it up...with the help of my friend Rickey...it's been out of wack for a while but I've finally surrendered and I'm letting an expert deal with it. Outsourcing is something I've been practicing lately. If there is a task that I'm not skilled at or feel baffled by or could use my time more wisely than stumble through it, I'll ask for help. And now I'm typing this blog post on my phone since my computer is being dealt with.
I see our human bodies in much of the same manner. Our exteriors may present a certain image but what's lurking under the surface may need more attention. When I got sick twice with strep throat this year, I knew that I needed to pay more attention to the signals my body was sending me...knowing when to slow down, though certainly not easy...can be an important form of maintenance.
What I'm learning through all of this is to make sure and continually address underlying issues of machinery including the machine that is our living and breathing body!