Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

I went out for a bit today to tend to my father's rent and to take him grocery shopping, and the puppy went along for the ride. He waited patiently in the cozy warm car while we braved the cold, and then on the way home, he slept. I looked over at him and wondered about the expression, "Let sleeping dogs lie."

Of course, I know what it means... a person who disturbs a sleeping dog might just get bitten, but I wondered when and where this phrase came into use. I did a little investigation and found that it was already in use in the 13th century, and we're still using it now. It must be a practical principle. Don't wake the dog by trying to remove its bone, for example.

I also thought of how I've ignored my doctoral work for the past few weeks, partly because I'm afraid of it... haha. I approach it gingerly, as if it is going to attack me or confront me with my own inadequacies. This is the heart of the metaphor... leave things alone if you don't have to address them because addressing them can be risky. The problem with that attitude is that sometimes we need to talk about our feelings --- and in terms of the dog, sometimes he is sleeping in our space. We want to be comfortable on the couch or open the door that he is guarding.

Earlier today, I wrote the following note to my creativity group (which is composed of friends who were in the online Creativity Bootcamp in October with Jane Barry and who are now with me again in The Creativity Salon. (By the way, another Creativity Bootcamp is coming up in February! Do cobsider joining us! Here's the information: http://thatcuriousloveofgreen.com/2016/01/03/2nd-global-creativity-bootcamp-february-2016/

Anyway, I wrote this note because I longed to get control, and because I wanted support . I had nudged the sleeping dog that is my doctoral study proposal, and it growled a little. I began to think I'd never get around it.

Friends, I wrote the summary of Section I of the doctoral proposal today, but I think it's too long, so I need to revise it, write a transition to Section II, and get Section II completed by January 15. What I'm feeling is: scared I can't do it, don't know how, can't get started, can't finish, etc. But all of those can'ts aren't true; it's not logical. I'm going to accept those feelings for a moment, and work on letting them pass. I'm also going to ask for help.

I'm going to need the tribe, too, to push me up the hill and over the hump. I'll probably be rambling here about retention, students, methodology, blahblahblahblah, and my emotions will be trying to drag me all over the place. Insecurities want to move in and take up space on the couch.

Now notice what happened there: I went to a different metaphor: Sisyphus being condemned to eternally push a boulder up a hill --- but then I also referred to my insecurities as taking up space on the couch. Why do we use so many metaphors to describe what we're feeling? Because they're beautifully effective --- they lend insight and help us pin down the exact expression of our emotions that we are experiencing. Sometimes just getting a keen image of what we're going through helps to resolve it.

David came home for lunch and we took a nap --- so did puppy. I've now finally gotten in the shower and will take care of Dad's rent and spending money, take him to the grocery store, and look at the gorgeous sun outside. It's cold now; I think we are actually going to have a bit of winter. Back to work tomorrow, and back to better eating. You wouldn't believe the amount of chocolate covered peanut brittle I've put away, and that's just the tip of it... :.)

Through it all, though, there has been my blessed yoga, waiting for me every morning, and my body is becoming more flexible than it has ever been in 50 years!

Good things on the horizon. I have to keep looking at the goal, at the prize...

You too. The image below is from communities.intel.com. I think you know which one I am.... the one at the door is the chair of my doctoral committee, who comes back to work today also. :>)

By the end of the post to the tribe, I'd come around to the humor of the situation and ended with this cartoon. The lesson here for writers is to keep talking it out... and try to see the humor when we get stuck.