Laziness

{Smathers Beach at Key West}

Staring at my “to-do” list makes me angry.  Only two out of twelve items have been checked off over the course of two weeks.  Even as I sit at my usual coffee shop, I’d rather listen to music and daydream of being a karaoke superstar (oddly, I had similar daydreams as a child) or taking a tropical beach vacation instead of doing work.  Perhaps I’m tired…or miss my friends and family…or am so overwhelmed by work that I’m procrastinating until the very last minute before I get in trouble (something I used to do in grade school)…or a combination of everything plus life, in general. 

Yesterday morning, I released some aggression at kickboxing class, and on my way out, I couldn’t help but smile.  At the nearby park, a group of adorable kids were seated around a campfire, laughing and telling jokes.  And at that moment, I realized — Sometimes life gets so stressful that we can’t help but revert to our childhood ways of coping, that is, until reality sets in.  I’m a physician (not a karaoke dynamo) and I can no longer rely on teachers punishing me for late work submissions.

If only life could be as simple as a campfire during summer break.