Spending time learning about the Milky Way fit with my intentions but then I found myself carefully studying every fact in [...]]]> Over the weekend my family visited the Air and Space Museum on the Mall. For some overpowering reason, I wanted to contemplate the universe as we embarked on another year. Acknowledging the vastness of space sometimes helps to put our lives in perspective. We are part of something so much larger than our everyday instances.

Spending time learning about the Milky Way fit with my intentions but then I found myself carefully studying every fact in a telescope exhibit. “Oh, Cindy” I thought, “back to something you can touch while thinking about mechanics.” Why did I bring myself down to Earth?

Unable to stop reading, I stumbled across a picture of a woman. She must have done something remarkable to be featured.

Hmmm, for years she dedicated herself to studying tiny little dots in the hope of finding miniscule changes. Henrietta Swan Leavitt starred at photographic plates taken of the same part of the sky on different nights. She painstakingly compared each star to find a “minute brightness change” that would reveal a variable star. She found 2,400 of them which was about half of those known at the time.

I couldn’t do that.

But, because she discovered the link between the brightness and length of brightness cycle, she found what astronomers had been desperately seeking. She gave them the information they needed to measure distances in space.

You never know when your work will make a difference.

Although my intent was to think about the universe beyond our human existence, my lesson involved the benefits of dedicating yourself to a pursuit over time. Instead of a vast focus, I was taught the benefits of a meticulous concentration.

Often in this quickly-changing fickle society, people seem to admire bigger, better, and newer. In order to advance, we need people plugging away at the same little tasks. There’s no shame in ongoing dedication as long as you continue to give it your absolute best effort.

A few months ago I started to feel sick at work with a headache. Convinced I was catching my son’s cold, I decided to go out for a run anyway. Miraculously, I felt better.

On a few other occasions this winter I’ve felt terrible. Convinced I’d be sick in bed within hours, I dragged myself out for my late-night kickboxing class then recovered. I’ve been telling everyone how my [...]]]>

Watch out when the stress blows in

A few months ago I started to feel sick at work with a headache. Convinced I was catching my son’s cold, I decided to go out for a run anyway. Miraculously, I felt better.

On a few other occasions this winter I’ve felt terrible. Convinced I’d be sick in bed within hours, I dragged myself out for my late-night kickboxing class then recovered. I’ve been telling everyone how my exercise must be boosting my immune system because I never wind up getting sick.

With the blizzards, I couldn’t travel to the gym. For six days my stomach was upset. I enjoyed my time with my family while trying to keep the ball rolling for a major fundraiser. With Washington DC snowed in for a full week, the hours were dwindling before the big event. Even though I had been ill for several days, I forced myself to an early-morning kickboxing class as soon as the roads were clear. When I came home I started to research my symptoms in fear of cancer. A short time later I was completely better.

When I was reading the medical book, the first cause of my symptoms was typed in bold letters: stress.

I had spent a week feeling sick because of stress. I still can’t believe I didn’t recognize it. My suffering had me worrying about a major disease. With my conscious effort to stay healthy, I can’t believe I didn’t know what was happening to me.

The realization that I was suffering from stress every time I thought I was sick floored me.

When I interviewed for my nonprofit job, I was asked how I handle stress. Fundraising under tight schedules with part-time hours and a strong desire to succeed is recognized for the stress it creates. Yoga and running on a daily basis had been a strong foundation to staying healthy but with work taking up additional hours, late-night kickboxing had to be added. Apparently, I can’t live without all these stress reducers.

But not all stress is bad. The American Institute of Stress describes it this way:

Increased stress increases productivity – up to a point, after which things rapidly deteriorate, and that level also differs for each of us. It’s much like the stress or tension on a violin string. Not enough produces a dull raspy sound and too much an irritating screech or snaps the string – but just the correct degree of stress creates a beautiful tone.

There are many signs of stress.  HelpGuide.org lists the physical ones as aches and pains, diarrhea or constipation, nausea, dizziness, and loss of sex drive. Keep a look out for these in your daily life.

Without intervention, my situation is making me physically ill. With this awareness, I need to make sure I find the ways to keep a good balance and stay healthy. Hopefully the weather or injuries won’t prevent me again.

I’m feeling a need to run right now.

My entire work career has been spent in nonprofit organizations. Every one of my workplaces has had women in the majority functioning as team with complete collaboration. Titles never mattered. No one ever tried to take credit for group efforts. It has always been about the results.

Last week Third Sector Connector had a wonderful list, 17 Hallmarks of Community Change Agents. A few jumped off the screen: