Of Mountains and Molehills

For those of you who don’t know me, I love God’s creatures. From horses to earthworms, from birds to bees, I love them all.

Well, almost all of them. I have a nemesis. Moles.

Those little buggers. I can’t come up with one good reason that God made them. Black mounds disrupt green grass. Underground tunnels create miniature sinkholes. Lumpy pastures. Oh heaven help me, lumpy pastures.

I have a daily ritual of checking and moving my mole trap and I celebrate each time one of the little bastards is dead in the snare. No catch and release from this animal-lover.

The other morning more fresh black mounds appeared, the trap was empty, and I was having trouble setting it again. I was in a foul mood. Those ugly black mounds and their ugly little architects had ruined my day and it wasn’t even breakfast time yet.

After internally grumbling, perhaps some external complaining, and maybe a couple of indecent words tossed down the holes, I finally had to stop myself and laugh. I had been making mountains out of literal molehills.

The moles weren’t my problem.

The molehills weren’t my problem.

Even the lumpy pastures weren’t my problem.

Do you want to know what my problem really was?

My frustration. My annoyance. My disappointment. My irritation.

My problem wasn’t my problem. My problem with the problem was my problem.

The molehills were just molehills. But my attitude about them made them into mountains.

You might have molehills of your own. Maybe not literal molehills like me, but figurative molehills. Maybe it’s the way your boss asks you a question. Maybe it’s how your spouse doesn’t answer your question. Maybe it’s the kids. Maybe it’s the car. Maybe you’re sick. Maybe you’re spread too thin.

Whatever your problem is, remember, your problem isn’t your problem. Your problem with the problem is the problem. It’s your attitude, your draining feelings, your negative emotional reaction to the situation that’s the problem.

So like me, stop yourself, laugh at yourself just a little bit and recognize: Those situations are just molehills. But you’re making them into mountains.

Here’s to Conquering Stress,

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