Comments on: Mountain or Molehill: What Obstruction Is in Your Way?

By: Marci

Marci — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 01:43:10 +0000

I have been looking at my molehill as a mountain lately! I’m working on finding a way to balance work and family, which means getting out of my comfort zone and trying something new. My ultimate goal being that I can still bring home some bacon, while being present most nights for my family. I used to work a lot more weekends/saturdays. There has to be a way…

My natural tendency is to avoid the hill until I can see that I can tackle it step by step, if not all at once. Being a mom and a business woman means things don’t get done quite as fast as they used to. Instead of bailing, if my motives are right and the time is right, then I get active on it. If not, I will see it as a mountain not worth climbing.

By: Rudri

Rudri — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 00:09:19 +0000

Great topic. Often times, when I have my bearings, I think about a situation and apply the five rule. Will this matter five minutes from now? Five hours from now? Five years from now? Usually it doesn’t matter and my anger dissipates.

By: BigLittleWolf

BigLittleWolf — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 21:32:54 +0000

What a thoughtful and compelling post. There’s so much here to contemplate!

I know that sleep is a huge factor for me. My sleep issues are chronic (and physical), but there are periods when they’re better rather than worse. On several nights of 5 or 6 hours of sleep, I can handle most things pretty well. It’s when I get consistently less that I struggle with keeping my cool.

I will say that the more mountains we have, the more able we are to discern the difference between a true mountain and a molehill – or even those things that sit in between.

But when it’s hardest? If it affects my kids and I’m powerless to help. Whether we’re talking big things or small, that’s when I’m most likely to go into lioness mode – whatever it takes to protect my young.

By: ayo

ayo — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 19:52:10 +0000

hello belinda,
how are you?
i must confess, at the beginning of the post, i had to laugh because you said you were confident you could outrun…..
but you make a valid point when you highlight how we are prone to pass judgements in error without really grasping the whole situation.
our perceptions to life or events vary from person to person and this may bring about misunderstandings.
there are several obstacles in the journey of life but resilience/persistence is required to face or move them.
take care and enjoy the rest of the day.

By: Sara Healy

Sara Healy — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:23:48 +0000

Belinda — It’s interesting that you picked this subject as it’s something I’ve been exploring with myself. Sometimes, it’s hard to find a balance between reacting and letting something go. I battle with myself about this. For me, it has a lot to do with what I believe is fair or unfair.

For example, the woman charging out at you would almost immediately trigger my “this is unfair” gene and I would probably stepped in to stop her from yelling at you, even if I didn’t know you well. However, there are many times when my “fairness” reaction creates more problems than the original situation!

I think it’s a balancing act and certainly one of my life lessons — Learning when to stand up and acknowledge a real mountain and when to chase away the illusion of a mountain so you can see the molehill. I’m still working on it:~)

I loved how you weaved the story of the truck blocking your driveway into the excellent conversation of this post. Well done!

By: Justine

Justine — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 13:24:09 +0000

Belinda – ever since I stumbled upon Virginia Woolf’s quote, “arrange the pieces as they come” from Shapiro’s “Devotion”, I somehow feel empowered to move mountains or molehills that seem to be obstructions but really, it’s a matter of playing Tetris with them. I know it sounds ridiculous because some mountains are, as you know, dauntingly large, but there’s something comforting about the saying, even visually arresting, that it seems to evoke strength within me to find creative ways to unblock my paths and move my obstructions, as you say.

By: Cathy @ All I Want To Say

Cathy @ All I Want To Say — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 03:36:50 +0000

I’ve noticed that my reaction can be influenced by the person around me. If the person is upset and distraught, I feel the need to be calm and collected. However, if I was irritated and someone was all calm, cool and collected, I might take the opportunity to get ticked and rant a little.

Belinda – I enjoy your writings! Please come claim your Lovely Blog award…..

By: ayala

ayala — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 00:00:32 +0000

The perception of things depends on what our emotional state is on that day. Some days we are able to carry the burden better than on other days. Good post Belinda!

By: Belinda Munoz

Belinda Munoz — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 21:00:52 +0000

I just love how you make a distinction between reactive and responsive, Meg. One is raw; the other finessed. If we're on the receiving end, there are times we want one, and other times we want the other.

By: Belinda Munoz

Belinda Munoz — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:53:32 +0000

Breathing! Isn’t it amazing how something so simple and basic can be so healing? Just saying the word calms me. I have struggled with breathing before; self-imposed, I’m sure, but yoga and meditation have helped tremendously.