All You Create

A week or so ago, I was headed to bed much later than I should have been. And in my sleepy state on my way to bed, I had this epiphany: Life and the ongoing pursuit of happiness and improvement revolve around the idea of agitation.

Granted, I can’t for the life of me remember what happened that day or evening to make me think such a thing. But something must have triggered it. The only thing I did that made me remember this epiphany the next morning at all was reach for a pen and paper to scribble something down. What did I write? Get ready — it’s mind-boggling:

• agitation
• teeth
• exercise
• clothes

That’s it. Those were my clues to myself that would surely be crystal the next day, reminding me of the key to the mysteries of the world. Oy.

And now, a week or so later, I’m trying to piece together that instant “aha” feeling I had that night. Here’s what I’m thinking:

Everything (OK, maybe not everything, as everything (!) has an exception) in this world that can be improved, that has to do with vigor of life, must be agitated in order to make a positive difference.

Let’s look at my examples.

Teeth

In order to clean our teeth, we have to scrub them with a medium-soft toothbrush. We have to agitate the gunk that’s accumulated on the surface of the teeth and in between the teeth to dislodge said gunk and get those pearly whites pearly-white. No agitation, no healthy teeth. Say “no” to agitation, say “hello” to tons of problems with gum disease and stinky breath.

Exercise

With exercise, the name of the game is movement. We have to move (faster! harder! higher! more!) in order to stay — or get — healthy. We have to agitate our state of inactivity in order to get the blood pumping, the brain firing and the fat cells freaking out. No agitation, no good number on the scale. Say “no” to agitation, say “hello, my little friend” to cardiac issues.

Clothes

Clothes get clean, of course, by the agitation of washing machines. They get tossed around in swirling water, and all that motion is what gets the dirt out. No agitation, no clean shirt to wear on your hot date. Say “no” to agitation, say “where you been all my life?” to dull, marred clothing.

Other examples, I’m sure, abound. Some combination of Newton’s laws of motion must be at the root of this truth, though I’m most definitely not the one to explain them to you.

But I’ve also thought about what agitation in life means. Agitation in this sense means disruption — something that upsets our proverbial applecart. We live our lives, doing our routines, doing what we’re supposed to do, not disrupting the social order, minding our own business. Yet somehow, stuff gets all messed up. Something happens that jolts us out of our daily grinds, and what do we have to do to either fix it so that we can go back to our routine or find a better path? Something. We have to do something. We have to move.  To do something out of the norm. To agitate.

And that thing that we do — whatever it is — can be agitating to us. Doesn’t have to be agitating in the annoying sense of the word, but it often is, at least at the beginning. And why is it annoying? Because it’s most probably out of our comfort zone.

The thing is, though, that it’s that very agitation, the act of doing (and doing something a bit odd to us) that makes us move forward as people, as an integral part of the human race. It helps us grow. It’s a very personal thing, this agitation, but it’s a great thing, truly.

So what’s my takeaway from this little epiphany? It’s simple to think about, not the easiest of tasks to start, yet ultimately fulfilling as interactive beings on this here planet:

Embrace agitation, in all its forms. It’s the stuff that dreams are made of.

Phew! That was fun.

Happy trails!

SAK