Wellness Corner by Joanne Kosta, RN
A Friend to A Few…A Foe to Many
I can’t remember the first time I met Irritability. I think it was during High School Physiology 30 years ago. The teacher was droning on and on….nothing
new….nothing exciting…and way too much about football. Irritability
flew in and sat right on me! She quickly
introduced me to Self-righteousness.
Self-righteousness and Irritability assured me I had a right to make
this teacher’s life miserable because he owed it to us to teach more—to teach
better!
After Arrogance joined our pow-wow, It wasn’t long before the
young teacher invited me to sit in the hall. Self-righteousness ran out to comfort me. He told me not to worry about it at all…I
could learn more just from reading the book.
I have to say that I have had a relationship with Irritability
for many years. I have met all of her close
friends especially Worry and Despair.
From time to time they invited me to consider Revenge after I had a good
session with Self-Pity. Thankfully my
relationships with Fear, Faithfulness, and Humor have stopped me from going too
far. They have filled me with Determination to grow up, but still include silly
Child Behaviors like hurling snowballs, April fool jokes, and more.
As I have tried to better myself and pray more, I have seen
less and less of Irritability. I’ve even
had occasional glimpses of Humility. I
just don’t want Irritability running my life.
I have realized that she almost always has to have a solid dose of
Fatigue in order to really get started. Ah,
Fatigue sprinkled with Martyrdom—and Irritability can take off. But, nobody really likes to see her coming. She is not
one you want to invite to a party, and especially not one that you want to have in bed with you if you are snoring or
hogging the covers.
By herself, Irritability is pretty negative and hard to live
with. But, sometimes she is a real gift
to me. I have learned that with a little
Wisdom, Irritability can be a ‘head’s up.’
I can be so engrossed in my life, that I completely miss something that needs
to be addressed. Irritability helps me
with that. She can be a good friend of
Boundaries.
Irritability has always been close with Courage, Energy, and
Perseverance. I have had her to thank
for many good friends who object to status quo or stand up for others. I don’t regret that she has been in my life,
but I must admit, I am a little afraid of her intentions. I can relax though, knowing that when she
comes to visit, I have already prayed to be wrapped in Humility and Wisdom—and have
prayed that Self-Righteousness is nowhere to be found.
If you would like to learn more about Irritability, Joy,
Gloom, Laughter, and a host of other qualities and emotions, I invite you to
read, The Book of Qualities (R. Gendler) and Hinds’
Feet on High Places (H. Hurnard). I
think you will enjoy these books.
Ms. Kosta is a registered nurse who received
her BSN from the College of Mt. St. Joseph in 1981. She has specialized in the field of
prevention, healthy lifestyles, and natural approaches toward wellness. She is in her 16th year as an
Independent Shaklee Distributor. You can
reach Ms. Kosta @ 419-332-3857 or email her at healthnow@glis.cc
