Science Lesson

I've always been a big fan Newton’s Law of Motion—the concept that “a body at rest tends to stay at rest / a body in motion tends to stay in motion.” According to the Encarta Encyclopedia, inertia is the state by which "an object…not subject to any...external force moves at a constant velocity. In even simpler terms, inertia means that an object will always continue moving at its current speed and in its current direction until some (other) force causes its speed or direction to change." There is some comfort in realizing that inertia doesn't mean stillness, but simply keeping the status quo.

I realize that I have constant force upon my teeth, and because of this, I am trying very hard to create a state of equilibrium. That constant force is very strong, but undetectable to anyone but me, and so I fear that it looks as though I am in a state of stillness or that I'm not trying hard enough to achieve the goals that I should have achieved by now, large or small. The novel is still sitting there. I haven't gotten to Japan. My niece and nephew speak better French than I do.

Maybe this is why I am so attracted to running these days. I am exerting my own force upon me, one that is visible to the outside world, and one that certainly matches the force that is exerted upon my interior. I had the day off today and for the first time I really ran--intervals of a 1/2 mile walking with 1/4 of a mile running. (Aren't you proud of me, J-Bird??) It felt good to work that hard, and to have a goal of not only running a 5K, but to getting rid of the last vestiges of my cupcake depression.

I saw a woman on the street today wearing a neck brace, and she looked so tall and elegant with the aid of the brace--placing her feet carefully as she walked. I wondered if she was self conscious of the brace, but as soon as I had that thought, it was replaced by another: "What does it matter? She needs the brace and it will soon be off, when the problem is corrected." I stopped cold in my tracks. I mean, if that's the honest, compassionate and instant train of thought that ran through my head, then why am I still continuing to convince myself that compassion is unavailable to me with my own plight with braces? Maybe someone is even thinking that I look tall and elegant with them. Wouldn't that be a hoot?

What a lovely thought/force to push me out of my state of inertia!