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I have a place that I go when I am stressed out. It is a peaceful place. It is quiet, reserved, and solitary. I can truly be myself in this space. It is ethereal. Sometimes fictional. I go there when I need protection from my crazy world. I will tell you a little bit about this place and the nickname my dear sister friend gave it. Yes, it has a name. That is how obvious it was to her when I slipped out of my reality to go to this place. First, let's talk about what I consider stress. I want to talk about the reasons I will lose my inner senses and yell, "Retreat! Retreat!"

I believe that I have a very simple definition for what I consider stress. For me, stress is anything that I do not want to handle. Stress is anything that I do not want to deal with. Stress is any situation that I do not want to confront. Stress is any challenge that I do not want to step up to the plate and face. Stress is any problem that I find too tiring, too grueling to find a solution for. Stress is those unexpected incidents that rock my world. Let's put it in real time: stress is the stack of bills on my desk that I do not want to deal with. Stress is the pressure to find suitable employment in a system that seems to be giving me the cold shoulder. Stress is that mess in the bathroom my husband made in his efforts to fix a leaky toilet that I am now left to clean up!

I am very skilled at putting on a good front. Oh, I can be as cool as a cucumber on the outside. Inside my soul is hollering at the very core of my being. "God, help me! I have got to get out of this mess!" This is the point where I retreat. I have my own personal shut-down mechanism. "It is a gift and a curse," as my favorite cable TV p-i would say.

My shut-down mechanism is when I retreat to what my sister friend calls my "purple planet". It is the place that I go to when I have had enough. I stop dealing with people or trying to handle the situation. I just stop working to exist and simply exist. I float through life in my "purple bubble" allowing the world around me to continue spinning out of control with no ill affects on me whatsoever. Neat trick, huh? I told you it's a gift! The curse is when my bubble gets burst. I think of it as God's way of letting me know that I have to deal with these harsh realities in my life.

I bet you are wondering how I eventually get off my "purple planet" in my "purple bubble" and back to life. This is simple: when I decide to. When I decide that I can handle it. When I decide that I am ready to deal with it. When I decide to confront it. When I decide to step up to the plate and face it. When I decide to muster up enough energy to find a solution for the problem. When I decide to come out of my "purple bubble" on my "purple planet": stress is no longer a factor. It is when I come into agreement with my God and say, "Okay. Enough is enough." This is when I can live in peace. At least for a little while anyway.

Hey, what color is YOUR planet?

What is your shut-down mechanism?

How is that working for you?

(Sigh) I feel better now. I am owning up to my mode of operation. Avoidance. You should try owning up to your stress. It is quite liberating.

Learn more about this author, Charlene Thomas.
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