Thank You for Whelmed

There’s overwhelmed, underwhelmed, and just plain whelmed.

Whelmed seems to be that place where we take things as they come, one step at a time, until we are submerged in the moment.

It doesn’t come around as often as overwhelmed or underwhelmed.

I don’t know if it’s easier to be overwhelmed or to be underwhelmed.

When we are underwhelmed, all inspiration can be usurped by ennui and complacency can become perilously close.

Underwhelmed looks a bit bland, a bit like a vast desert in November. It’s difficult to get excited about little cactus flowers before you can see the blooms.

On the other hand, overwhelmed seems to be a big blur, out of focus, too many options moving too fast. Overwhelmed looks like too many cactus flowers blooming at the same time. We can’t grasp them all without getting poked by needles.

Whelmed notices the cactus flowers, really sees them, and just let’s them be while absorbing  the beauty of one individual flower at a time.

It’s difficult to stay completely whelmed all the time.

But I think whelmed lives somewhere in the center of overwhelming times and underwhelming times.

 

photo by me

~ by leakelley on October 21, 2008.