Do It for Your Future Self

In my most recent theatre production at Little Colonel Playhouse, I was an angry Irish redhead who got into a cat fight with her rival.

I’m a bit grumpy these days because I’ve had a surgery that is keeping me from doing some of the things I love, such as eating well, painting, singing, and acting. But no worries, it’s only for a couple of weeks, and this is for my future self! She will thank me someday.

My dentist insisted that I needed a skin graft inside my mouth to rebuild some gum tissue that has been lost over the years. Well, I have been through some trauma with my teeth, and I’m not a good patient. Fainting or becoming nauseated at the sight or thought of blood are two of my special talents, and I could go on. Long story short—I’m a big chicken when it comes to medical procedures, and I have the horror stories to justify my fears.

So I put it off as long as I could and planned the surgery between rehearsal schedules for my theatre exploits. It’s been six days now and I still feel miserable, but the worst is over, and I’m glad to have done something for my future self.

Here’s the latest painting waiting to dry as I’m waiting to feel like painting again. Beargrass Creek at Cherokee Park, oil on Canvas, 48 x 60 inches.

What does your future self need you to do? This principle can be applied not only to health issues, but also to spiritual areas of your life. In my journal, I wrote to my future self. “YOUR WELCOME!” trying to make my current self feel better. It helped a little.

And if you just don’t have it in you to do what’s best for your future self right now, that’s okay. As I read in my meditation from Richard Rohr today, “one translation of Jonah says, ‘Don’t you know me, Jonah, that I’m mercy within mercy within mercy?’ I love that ending: God the all-merciful. “