Escape

"I need some distraction. Oh beautiful release. Memory seeps from my veins. Let me be empty and weightless and maybe I'll find some peace tonight."

When I was a child I discovered anything that emptied my mind and filled me with joy was my escape. It was lying with my sisters alongside the clubhouse pool warming my cold wet body against the hot cement and drawing cloud animals in the sky. It was climbing ladders into one cherry tree after the next with my aunt in search of the best cherries, and eating so many our bellies would cramp. It was the smell of anise cookies that filled my grandmother's house at Christmas. It was packing up the camper and heading out to explore the vast unknown world.....

Can you remember learning how to escape? We escape whatever it is we perceive as stress at that moment when our mind empties and our heart is filled with joy. Even God said the seventh day is for rest, or forty days in the desert for a deeper escape.

Stress is a significant risk factor for.... well just about every disease or health problem that exists. I could detail out specific mechanisms by which this occurs, but simply put stress is the one risk factor most people feel they have no control over.

Above I quote the song 'Angel' by Sarah McLachlan where the distraction, the escape she describes is a drug. Because sometimes we forget how to escape or worse yet have never discovered how to escape.

When you take time for yourself long enough to discover your own escape, your stress decreases. When your stress decreases, your health improves. May we all journey in the direction of healthier lives so we can better serve God and each other.