My hair is long enough that it reaches past my waistline. It's more convenient to put it up in a bun when I'm exercising or doing housework, but sometimes I just forget to. Yesterday, I forgot to. Vacuuming is best done when J is awake, but that means he wants to be involved, which I love but can get complicated. So, the faster I finish the task the better. As I entered J's room, the vacuum started to sound different and like the careful household item owner that I am (or Mr. Butler has trained me to be) I stopped to make sure everything was okay. In one quick motion of concern, I leaned down to look underneath and suddenly my hair fell in the same direction. Before I knew what was happening my head was jerked toward the ground and my hair was being sucked into oblivion!
I recovered without a problem, but it was ridiculous and alarming all at the same time. And life application came pouring into my brain. Of course, there is the don't let your hair near the bottom of a vacuum lesson. Beyond that, perhaps this is how some people wind up in the proverbial ditch on the side of the road. No bad intentions, no ill will. Just low attention to detail, low caution and suddenly they are getting sucked up into something they never dreamed of.
How to keep your vacuum from sucking you up:
1) Remember the power it holds. Because something is common to us, it's easy to forget the power it has to affect our lives. Anything that we allow ourselves to get dependent on or familiar with can and will influence us. Technology, friendships, even habits like diet and exercise. Make sure we treat it with the respect it deserves. It will change your life, just make sure that's a good thing.
2) For intended use only. When we don't have what we want (companionship, confidence, motivation, etc.), it's easy to pretend to get it from somewhere else (food, spending $$, facebook, etc.). Food is for health and sustainment. Money allows the purchase of goods, not happiness! Make sure you are utilizing elements of your life for what they were intended.
3) It can happen to you! No one is immune to being careless and getting sucked up into a whirlwind of some kind. Know your weakness and put in fences. If you know you are a time waster and just got a new iPad, set time limits for yourself. Do you eat when you get bored? Every time that tummy growls, drink a glass of water and do something on your to-do list first before taking a bite.
Nobody (that I know of or would claim to know) plans on getting their hair sucked up a vacuum. Nobody plans to lose precious time and relationships over foolish choices. But it happens to us all, all the time. Take a little inventory today. "Only YOU can prevent forest fires!" That pretty much applies to most everything else.
I recovered without a problem, but it was ridiculous and alarming all at the same time. And life application came pouring into my brain. Of course, there is the don't let your hair near the bottom of a vacuum lesson. Beyond that, perhaps this is how some people wind up in the proverbial ditch on the side of the road. No bad intentions, no ill will. Just low attention to detail, low caution and suddenly they are getting sucked up into something they never dreamed of.
How to keep your vacuum from sucking you up:
1) Remember the power it holds. Because something is common to us, it's easy to forget the power it has to affect our lives. Anything that we allow ourselves to get dependent on or familiar with can and will influence us. Technology, friendships, even habits like diet and exercise. Make sure we treat it with the respect it deserves. It will change your life, just make sure that's a good thing.
2) For intended use only. When we don't have what we want (companionship, confidence, motivation, etc.), it's easy to pretend to get it from somewhere else (food, spending $$, facebook, etc.). Food is for health and sustainment. Money allows the purchase of goods, not happiness! Make sure you are utilizing elements of your life for what they were intended.
3) It can happen to you! No one is immune to being careless and getting sucked up into a whirlwind of some kind. Know your weakness and put in fences. If you know you are a time waster and just got a new iPad, set time limits for yourself. Do you eat when you get bored? Every time that tummy growls, drink a glass of water and do something on your to-do list first before taking a bite.
Nobody (that I know of or would claim to know) plans on getting their hair sucked up a vacuum. Nobody plans to lose precious time and relationships over foolish choices. But it happens to us all, all the time. Take a little inventory today. "Only YOU can prevent forest fires!" That pretty much applies to most everything else.
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