A Sunday Thought About Brother Ass to Kick Us Into the Work Week
St. Francis of Assisi referred to his body as "Brother Ass." I've taken a liking to this and frequently address my own body this way. "Brother Ass' captures what this body of mine does and feels like much of the time.
Not that I'm complaining. As far as aches and pains go, things have actually improved over time. But improvement doesn't just happen on its own. You've got to get Brother Ass involved.
Feed him good food and drink and you can minimize illness. With good nutrition, he's got a higher capability of fighting off the germs that worm their way in from time to time. And when his efforts don't succeed in pushing back, he'll have an easier time dealing with the onslaught of things like colds, flu, and other infections that can wipe us out despite our best efforts.
Exercise gets him a bit riled up. After all, he's an Ass and can be rather stubborn when we want him to do this or that. But he's usually OK with even the most vigorous forms as long as we're prudent and do our best to avoid injury. Jumping around, lifting weights, push-ups, pull-ups, and all the rest sometimes entail some pain. But he's heard and understands that old bromide: No pain, no gain. So with some urging, we can get him to get up and get going.
But even the best nutrition and carefully paced exercise won't stifle the ass's bray. Brother Ass is no exception. He'll hee-haw to get your attention when he needs a respite. Sleep's the daily choice for this. Stretching and giving the poor boy some time off help a lot. I'm not always consistent here. Owning and running your own business comes with 24/7 demands. If you're not careful, they really do take up all your time. And Brother Ass can suffer the consequences.
When I started my business over ten years ago, that 24/7 was the rule. Even Sundays would find me working on something or other. And when I wasn't literally sitting down at my keyboard, I'd be ruminating over some issue that called for attention if not immediate action. Workaholic? I suppose - but not by choice. I've never been one of those who more or less take pride in being known as such. For me, it was a matter of necessity - or at least I thought it was a necessity.
Brother Ass didn't want any part of it. Stress and anxiety, combined with lack of proper sleep would elicit the longest and loudest "hee-haws." If I didn't listen, he just kept at it until I did.
Over time, the 24/7, the stress and anxiety eased. Thank God for that. And I'm not just spitting out a rote phrase here: It was all on God. Prayer, mortification, some time spent in thought, meditation, sitting before the Blessed Sacrament, receiving the Sacraments (Confession, Holy Communion), reading Scripture, good spiritual reading, studying the truths taught by me Catholic religion - all played their part. But it was God's grace that kept me pursuing these pious practices. I just cooperated with that grace.
Frankly, my first efforts with all these pious practices didn't seem to yield much fruit. I don't know what I expected when I committed consistent time each day. For years, despite my commitment and daily effort, I remained stressed and anxious over every little thing related to the business. The only results I saw were from my watching what I put into my body, along with physical exercise. Brother Ass got a bit stronger, a bit less stiff. He appreciated that part of it. But he still didn't like the emotional distress. It took a toll.
In time, though, with the awareness that I couldn't "muscle" my way out strictly through my own efforts, things slowly improved. Sure, I kept at the exercise, even ramped it up somewhat. But more important than the physical: the spiritual. Slowing down and paying closer attention to my daily acts of piety (reading, study, etc.), trying to be more "present" at Mass, making better confessions, receiving Holy Communion with less distraction, being more conscious of this awesome gift of Our Lord's Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity - all of this seemed to calm Brother Ass. As with the soul, so the body - or something like that.
And so Sunday now finds me knocking 24/7 down to 24/6 - or even less when I'm really on top of my game during the work week. There's room to breathe. There's time to rest.
As for Brother Ass, he's still, well, an ass. He's still stubborn, and he'll always need special care and attention. But at least he's mostly up to his tasks when the new work week begins every Monday morning.
Not that I'm complaining. As far as aches and pains go, things have actually improved over time. But improvement doesn't just happen on its own. You've got to get Brother Ass involved.
Feed him good food and drink and you can minimize illness. With good nutrition, he's got a higher capability of fighting off the germs that worm their way in from time to time. And when his efforts don't succeed in pushing back, he'll have an easier time dealing with the onslaught of things like colds, flu, and other infections that can wipe us out despite our best efforts.
Exercise gets him a bit riled up. After all, he's an Ass and can be rather stubborn when we want him to do this or that. But he's usually OK with even the most vigorous forms as long as we're prudent and do our best to avoid injury. Jumping around, lifting weights, push-ups, pull-ups, and all the rest sometimes entail some pain. But he's heard and understands that old bromide: No pain, no gain. So with some urging, we can get him to get up and get going.
But even the best nutrition and carefully paced exercise won't stifle the ass's bray. Brother Ass is no exception. He'll hee-haw to get your attention when he needs a respite. Sleep's the daily choice for this. Stretching and giving the poor boy some time off help a lot. I'm not always consistent here. Owning and running your own business comes with 24/7 demands. If you're not careful, they really do take up all your time. And Brother Ass can suffer the consequences.
When I started my business over ten years ago, that 24/7 was the rule. Even Sundays would find me working on something or other. And when I wasn't literally sitting down at my keyboard, I'd be ruminating over some issue that called for attention if not immediate action. Workaholic? I suppose - but not by choice. I've never been one of those who more or less take pride in being known as such. For me, it was a matter of necessity - or at least I thought it was a necessity.
Brother Ass didn't want any part of it. Stress and anxiety, combined with lack of proper sleep would elicit the longest and loudest "hee-haws." If I didn't listen, he just kept at it until I did.
Over time, the 24/7, the stress and anxiety eased. Thank God for that. And I'm not just spitting out a rote phrase here: It was all on God. Prayer, mortification, some time spent in thought, meditation, sitting before the Blessed Sacrament, receiving the Sacraments (Confession, Holy Communion), reading Scripture, good spiritual reading, studying the truths taught by me Catholic religion - all played their part. But it was God's grace that kept me pursuing these pious practices. I just cooperated with that grace.
Frankly, my first efforts with all these pious practices didn't seem to yield much fruit. I don't know what I expected when I committed consistent time each day. For years, despite my commitment and daily effort, I remained stressed and anxious over every little thing related to the business. The only results I saw were from my watching what I put into my body, along with physical exercise. Brother Ass got a bit stronger, a bit less stiff. He appreciated that part of it. But he still didn't like the emotional distress. It took a toll.
In time, though, with the awareness that I couldn't "muscle" my way out strictly through my own efforts, things slowly improved. Sure, I kept at the exercise, even ramped it up somewhat. But more important than the physical: the spiritual. Slowing down and paying closer attention to my daily acts of piety (reading, study, etc.), trying to be more "present" at Mass, making better confessions, receiving Holy Communion with less distraction, being more conscious of this awesome gift of Our Lord's Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity - all of this seemed to calm Brother Ass. As with the soul, so the body - or something like that.
And so Sunday now finds me knocking 24/7 down to 24/6 - or even less when I'm really on top of my game during the work week. There's room to breathe. There's time to rest.
As for Brother Ass, he's still, well, an ass. He's still stubborn, and he'll always need special care and attention. But at least he's mostly up to his tasks when the new work week begins every Monday morning.
Happy Sunday!
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