Peace and Comfort

Peace in the struggle to find peace.
Comfort on the way to comfort
~~Sarah McLachlan

It's so hard to find some days. The stresses of life pull at my seams. But, I fight and scratch to find it. It's the only way I can keep my sanity in what seems an insane world sometimes. Attending Sarah McLachlan's concert last Saturday was a short lived dose of peace and comfort. But, its effect was short lived.

I got a call last week from the VP. In light of all the hours I have been working, they are giving me a bonus on my next paycheck. It should still be a nice chunk of change even after Uncle Sam takes his massive cut. She admonished me to not use it for something practical - to do something for myself. I instantly thought of flying back East to help a friend with her move. However, it seems that isn't a viable option. So, I thought of all the things I should spend it on - a couch, a dining table, the tooth I broke last week, bills. I thought I had my mind made up that I would pay down my credit card debt. It seemed the most logical use of the money. It will save me more in finance charges then it would if I invested it right now. From what I'd save in cutting my finance charges, I could then purchase one of the items I need for my apartment that much sooner. Yes, ALL practical items. It's just how my mind works.

Then...yesterday occurred. I know the end of the month is always a tough time. I'm used to it. There is always tons of stuff to do to close the month. But, due to some extenuating circumstances, I'm behind on a lot of things. I'm trying to play catch up while I tread water in other areas. Things kept building throughout the day. By the end, I felt my head had been pulled under a couple of times.

I came home poured a glass of wine and began reading some of the entries in my "Simple Abundance" book. I'm a few days behind, so I was reading the entry from April 27th that talked about the need for touch and it's therapeutic powers:

Take one stressed-out woman and isolate her in a tranquil massage room for one hour. Now awaken her physical senses with the scent of the aromatic essential oils; the hypnotic stroking of her face and body...; the beautiful strains of Pachelbel's "Canon" playing softly in the background; the sight of shafts of
sunlight dancing on the wooden floors; and the refreshing taste of sparkling
mineral water and lemon in her mouth after the sublime massage session is
over.

It sold me! I'm using some of that money for a day of pampering. Skin Spa Baby! I'm thinking "A Day of Wellness" is exactly what I need and I'll still have money left over to do some of the practical things that I need to do. That's what you call getting the most bang for your buck!

But, for now, I'm off to tackle the mountains of work I brought home with me