at ease

Here's a little something I'm reminded of from the Marine Corps drill manual: Keeping the right form.

Marines are always finding themselves standing, marching or fighting in some kind of formation. Particularly in a standing formation, the actual "default" mode for a Marine is some sort of resting position. The three types of rest and the subsequent commands are "parade, rest", "rest", and "at ease". (On the flip side, Marines standing at attention for a prolonged period of time, though sometimes required, is not the norm)

In order to execute these resting positions, the Marine should be standing in her/his place and retaining the integrity of the group's formation as a whole, but at ease. The feet should be firmly planted, hands folded behind one's back, and at certain times he/she is allowed to talk a bit and interact with some buddies. At any given moment, however, the Marine should be able to snap to full attention, ready to obey the next command, aware of her/his surroundings. Relaxed, but always ready.

There are times and seasons where I'm allowed to rest. The normal, busy schedule of meetings and obligations are put on pause and I can "catch up on life". In recent years, my perfectionist, competitive tendencies actually led me to think of times of rest as bad and unproductive. I used to feel guilty about taking vacations and breaks, even abhorring the thought of sleeping more than 5 hours a day.

Alas, my "body is catching up to me" and I've softened over the years. I'm learning that taking a day off, resting, and just spending time recreating are essential. Times of rest are God-created avenues for me to reconnect with Him and re-realize God's purpose in my life.

Now I need to take responsibility and learn the difference between laziness and complacency, and getting a good rest. That, I think, will be important in learning to keep the right form. Just like Marines in a formation are given the privilege of resting but are expected to be fully ready to move at a moment's notice, retaining the integrity of the whole group - I must learn to purposefully take opportunities to rest, but always be ready to serve and live out my mission.

Relaxed, but always ready.

Working Wednesdays - "Off Days"

The other day at work, I was having an "off day". I kept making mistakes and had lots of brain farts, thereby reducing productivity and costing our company some money. My co-workers and boss called me out on it and thankfully, my actions slowed us down a bit but didn't result in ultra-detrimental losses.

I could have blamed my incoherence on lack of sleep, hunger, needing more experience and "time behind the wheel", but at the end of the day it's on me.

Been doing some reflecting and came to the conclusion that the whole "out of character" idea is often misused and misunderstood. If a person is acting "out of character", it simply means that he/she is acting in such a way that is unusual for her/his standard of normal behavior. But that moment of inconsistency does not and should not excuse a person from responsibility nor should we be stuck in a rigid judgment of ourselves and others.

If anything, our inconsistencies reveal another side to our selves - exposing a bit more of who we really are and what kind of lives we really lead on and off duty. Circumstances merely expose true character.

Back to work.