The Wisdom of the Cricket

I have crickets in my office.  They’re not over-running the place and I rarely actually see them, but boy can I hear them – loud and clear.  They come out of hiding in my backyard after sundown and party like it’s 1999.  But during the day, they’re mostly invisible – except if you’re really still and you listen very closely you can hear the faint, but constant little chirp in the distance. 

It occurred to me this morning that life is kinda like that; we bellow and ramble along in our daily life until something (a good or bad event in our lives) happens and then we lay low for a bit.  Contentment often softens us into silence as does unfortunate circumstances.  What I thought about mostly, though, as I sat down to write with the music of the crickets behind me, is that the softening that occurs often brings about a series of negative actions or, more often, non-actions. 

In the case of contentment, we stop living consciously and things become rote, complacent.  We have the feeling of having arriven at our destination and we create a little bubble around our world.  We are happy as a clam – until the bubble pops.

Then we are in the dreaded “negative” circumstances and we slow up even more – how can we function in all this misery?! 

The last four years for me have been a series of these kinds of scenarios.  My family has been on a roller-coaster ride of financial, emotional and marital issues that have often caused me to just stop.   I don’t mean stop completely, but the pattern was to be excited about the prospect of something good happening, become content and complacent, watch things not work out necessarily as expected and then nurse my wounds through bouts of complaining, self-doubt, half-hearted attempts at re-organization, poor eating habits, missed deadlines, general hand-wringing and self-pity.

But here’s what I learned from my friend, the cricket:  the power of consistency.  Through those same four years of my roller-coaster rides, those crickets have not missed a beat.  I’ve tried lots of things to get rid of them, but still they remain – stronger than ever – singing their nightly songs.

So that’s what it is peeps – the song of the cricket; simple but true, as most words of wisdom are.  Stuff is going to happen and obviously some of it won’t be good.  You’re going to doubt yourself, your choices, your friends, your blog…and you’re going to rage sometimes too, but don’t stop.  Even in the worst of circumstances, things will settle down again (they always do) and you’ll be glad you stayed the course.  This is the course of action that separates the people you know that always seem so lucky and the people who seem to have unfortunate circumstances happen every week. 

It’s all about perspective and having a deep understanding of what it means to remain neutral and find your center.  Now, that doesn’t mean that you can’t rejoice when you’re happy, but it does mean embracing the bad stuff just as wholeheartedly.   I know many feel that’s counter-intuitive, but guess what?  The bad stuff (feelings, people, events)  happens anyway, right?  So, since we can’t change that, the key is to change our attitude about it. 

So, go ahead, relish the good times with a joyfully happy heart! But when those bad times come a-rollin’ in (and they will), take a deep breath, some moments to reflect…and then keep on chirping.

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As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts, so leave me a comment, okay?  Are you in a state of contentment and complacency or frustration and regret?  What tools do you regularly use to help you move forward? 

*Image by: reds1-logos

Tisha Berg is a wife, mom, blogger and freelance copywriter, among many other things. This blog is a personal journal of her journey as she balances family, work and school life. To keep in touch with Tisha, Follow Biz Mommy on Twitter, "Like" Biz Mommy on Facebook and/or get notified of new posts by subscribing.

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Tags: managing stress, overcoming adversity