September 07th, 2020

I noticed my stapler sitting askew on my desk. I tried to think back to the last time I had even used it. I did chuckle to myself that it would be useful right now in stapling what appears to be the loose ends of my world together. Sometimes, amidst all the chaos, I feel like I cannot breathe or cannot think or cannot possibly fold the laundry one more time- how about you? The problem with the stapler is that it does not discriminate amongst the good and bad before it collectively binds everything. It just gathers the whole lot and, with one smack of the hand, combines them all.
 
I would rather my struggles be in a binder where I can tear them out when I am done with them. Or a paperclip would be good; that would allow me to pull a sheet to freedom , crumple it up if and when I choose and let it go...
 
The stapler is much like authoring each of your days with a pen. A pencil and eraser are so much simpler. Do they still make Erasermate pens? Hah, I remember when those came out! The reason the ink was erasable was because it bonded more lightly to the paper.  But did the ink really completely disappear?  Sometimes, it would smudge. Other times, it did seem the written word had vanished.  Though truly, the missing word was simply the hidden result of friction. The ink was created to allow the color particles to separate when warmed up thereby "disappearing" or becoming clear. Supposedly, and I have never tried this, if the paper reaches a certain cold temperature the words reappear. Where am I heading with this train of thought? Life may simply be easier if we deal with issues as they arise and then peacefully let them go. We cannot erase the past-- people, memories, emotions-- so why try? Let's practice stapling together all of our good. If we release the other as it arises, it seems we may not have to contend with its ability to magically reappear ever again.