The needle
on my sewing machine was going up and down
through the fabric with speed and precision.
The stitches were smooth and even. Then, as I
stepped down even harder on the foot pedal,
the needle suddenly stopped. Looking closer,
I discovered the stitches had become uneven,
resulting in little loops of excess thread. I
tried to remove the fabric, but couldn't. The
needle wouldn't budge. After tugging on the
wheel, one way and then the other, I finally
raised the needle enough to free the fabric.
When I turned the fabric over to inspect the
underside of the stitches, I discovered a
large gnarled mess.
It reminded
me of life. A busy schedule with lots of
activity keeps me operating at my best
potential. Yet, there is a fine balance that
can be difficult to maintain. A proper
tension is required. With too much
stimulation, I procrastinate, and accomplish
little or nothing. When too much is required
or expected, my stomach aches and I get
grumpy and tend to fall apart at the seams.
Tension can
be good. If I invite company for dinner, I
feel positive tension that helps me
accomplish a great deal as I make my
preparations. A day I might have idled away
is suddenly filled with meaning and purpose.
If, however,
I invite company for dinner on a day that's
already too hectic, I become overly
stretched. My smooth tension becomes tense
and tight. Stress results, and ultimately
sends its poison surging through my system.
When I was a
child, my mother encouraged me to learn to
sew. However, she also regularly warned me
not to mess with the sewing machine's
tension. If it got out of whack and off
kilter, she said it would be tedious and time
consuming to properly regulate and get back
in sync.
Just like a
sewing machine, I must learn to carefully set
the tension in my life. It takes time to
discover a smooth and even balance which
maintains an inner fiber strong enough to
endure life's unplanned stresses without
becoming raveled.
