My mother would tell me a story of how the Romans used geese instead of dogs to guard their cities and soldiers. I am not sure how widespread through out Rome this actually was, but there is historical evidence that the Romans and many many others have relied on these birds to sounds an alarm and defend them or their property from intruders. So on this sixth day of Christmas, I am thinking about defense.
I am thinking about the defenses we set up that actually hurt us, the ones that our animal brains put into place to deal with hurts when we don’t have the tools to deal with them in a healthy manner. You probably can name a couple of your own right now, and know exactly what I mean. I have been under a great deal of stress over the past few years, and have learned some needed but not healthy ways of defending my psyche. Now that the stress is loosening up, I need to remember to shift from non productive defenses to productive ones.
For example, I have a procrastinator’s habit of doing busy work: when you keep moving and get things done but they are not the things that will actually move your life forward. Yes, the refrigerator needs to be cleaned and dinner needs to be cooked, but that looming bill needs to be paid and that dreadful task needs to be done as well. But by busying myself with other tasks, I can keep pushing off what needs to be done, working hard, and still feeling guilt, stress and not moving forward.
So when I hear this line, I will think of defenses that are good and ones that are dangerous and will remember to work against the ones that will not help me in the long run, even if they make me feel better in the short run.