PHYSICS: A POSTER CHILD

 According to Newton's first law:        

The law of inertia states that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.  

A couple of days ago, I was talking with my dear friend Regina, and she said, "you know when you took physics in high school, and they taught..."  I interrupted and told her, "I didn't take physics."  She then referenced Newton's first law: "An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.  An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force."  This was to explain why I (or she...I can't remember), hadn't done something or other.

OHHHHH!! I gamely exclaimed.  "That explains it!  I DIDN'T TAKE PHYSICS!!!!  If I had, I would be a published author by now, would never had gotten into that little scrape a while back, I would be skinny, totally NOT self indulgent, and would basically be on my game, ALL THE TIME!"  Just that one little change, if I had stuck with Mr. Ashraf in 12th grade, (which I dropped because I just didn't want to work that hard), life would have turned out just about perfectly.

Seriously though, it was like a happy little sledge hammer.  There was something in that glorious simplicity calling to me.  Physics...an object in motion tends to stay in motion, and an object at rest, tends to stay at rest.  Simple simple simple.   

I am a poster child for this law of motion business.  

I have meditated, read self help books, cajoled, motivated, wondered, prayed, self examined, all to develop better "self discipline".  And oh!... when I get going....I am like the energizer bunny.  

Once started on a project (often long put off),  I will go and go, barely stop to eat, drill in, move mountains, regardless if its cleaning the garage, developing a presentation, talking to a friend, surfing the net, cooking, weeding (just one more weed, just one more weed....), writing, talking, researching, shopping, analyzing, or creating anything.

PROCRASTINATION...aaahh....Newton's Law!  DIETING...great while it's going....Break it?  aaah, keep breaking it.  Newton's Law!  I don't want to go to sleep at night, then, in the morning, don't want to get out of bed!....Newton's Law!  How many times have I heard someone say, I put it off forever, but once I start, I can't stop.  All of us so UNIQUE!  But not so much really.

I was talking to my super disciplined friend....single mom, works full time, commutes three hours each day back and forth to work, mows her lawn, cleans her house, takes care of her aging mom, an active friend, dedicated sister, very involved loving mom....a hard worker!  When I discussed this SIMPLE theory with her the other day, she said, "Yeah!! When I come home from work, if I sit down on the couch, THAT'S IT for the rest of the night.  I will get nothing done, I will get on my phone, the internet, the TV, I will not get up.  BUT, if I come home and do a chore, I will stay productive and get a bunch of needed stuff done."

EVEN HER!  I thought people like her, self disciplined, organized, on top of it, would be immune.  Not so.

The meaning of all this?  Once again, it's a "me too."  I am subject to the laws of science.  If I wonder why I am not motivated and then wait for the motivation to get started on that pet project, or visa versa, wonder why, once I get started, am like a steam roller,  ahhh, this simple law.  Why I don't just balance my work, stop and take a natural little break, eat lunch, dinner, water, then blithely get back to it, but instead no lunch, and just one more, just one more, just one more piece of work...oh and the best, I tell myself, I am just going to look at this ONE piece of news, or email, or Facebook post, and actually think that I will stop.  Of course I don't set up some "an unbalanced force" TO STOP.

This just darn simplifies everything.  I can be more realistic, and kind, and forceful too.  Of course I don't want to start this next piece of work.  It's simple science.  Of course I don't want to stop and eat dinner when I'm on a roll.  It's simple science.  And I can, with this simple awareness, be (or create) that unbalanced force to start or stop.

The one place this does not seem to come into play is hard exercise! Once I start, I want to stop, the whole time!  Really, five more push ups? Ride up that big hill?  More squats?  I want to stop now!! BUT, even with this, once I start, I will complete the set, no matter how much I hate it.  So it seems to work there too.

High School physics.  Maybe it wouldn't actually have changed my life if I took it.  Glad it didn't...life is pretty good.  

And to confess, I had heard that little theory even without high school physics.

Just do it, (bah, that didn't work for me),  why don't you just stop? (smoking, eating those cookies, whatever bad habit), nah didn't work for me.

Total change of path.  God works for me.  Turning to God to get the strength and direction to do what I believe God wants of me. That works for me.

God also gives us the laws of physics.  

Sometimes, it is not this complicated set of metaphysical/emotional rituals...meditation,  waiting for motivation, inspiration, etc... This is a humbling relief.  It is...get off the couch (or conversely, STOP and take a break!), and trust that right there, in that simple tiny action is where the motivation, inspiration, and plain darn practical living happens....that's where the ease comes in.  We will always be facing that darn law of inertia.  Now, at 58, I don't have to let it take me by surprise anymore!