I have this awful feeling that I am moving through mud this week. No matter how detailed my to-do list is, I seem to end up at the end of the day asking myself the question,"What in heaven's name did I do today?" Perhaps it is because I have been having the 'whack-a-mole' syndrome. Do you know what I mean? It is that carnival game where you stand with a rubber mallet as these little,furry, fake moles pop up in random places on a flat surface. The point of the game is to 'whack the mole' back down into its hole. The better you are at it, the faster the moles pop up. You can imagine it. Perhaps you have even felt the same way some weeks.It is simply a fact of life that some weeks are just more complicated than others. More challenges. More conflicts. More opportunities. More, more, more. I liken it to the same experience I have when I have a cold. When you are in the midst of a full blown,nose-blowing, stuffed up, red faced cold, it is difficult to remember when you ever felt 'normal'. At least that is my experience. I become the person who has always had a terrible cold, have always been whacking moles.

But, of course, this is not true. Soon this rolling around in the mud will break loose and things will ease into a calmer, quieter, more peaceful way of being.Much of that has to do with the ebb and flow of work, of life. But sometimes we have the ability to soften the thrust of the mallet and smooth out the muddy mess by simply stopping and remembering that it will not always be so. After a deep breath, an uttered prayer,clarity creeps in. Solutions will be found. Challenges will be overcome. Conflicts will be resolved. It is the nature of goodness and order to prevail.

If you are in a similar place as I am, I invite you to put down your mallet and take off your waders. Let the moles pop until they exhaust themselves. Invite the sun to come out to harden the mud. Take the reins of creativity and calm and hold on tight. Better days are ahead.

"Come and find the quiet center in the crowded life we lead,
Find the room for hope to enter, find the frame where we are freed:
Clear the chaos and the clutter, clear our eyes that we can see
All the things that really matter, be at peace, and simply be."
~Shirley Erena Murray