All Over Town

There’s a scene in the Wizard of Oz where the Wicked Witch of the West sends her flying monkeys to kidnap Dorothy.

In the process, they literally rip the Scarecrow limb from limb and toss his body parts in all directions.

“They tore my legs off and they threw them over there,” the battered strawman tells his companions. “Then they took my chest out and they threw it over there!”


“Well, that’s you all over,” the Tin Man says.

Yes, it’s a play on an old expression, but it came back to me on Friday in its original meaning as it held up a mirror to one of my most unhealthy traits.

I had just gotten to my office, taken off my jacket and hoodie but, instead of hanging them in the nearby closet, I draped them over my chair, sat down, and started working—with my back pressed against the hoodie.

Now, oddly enough, this was extremely uncomfortable. But I didn’t remove the hoodie, I didn’t hang it up or even put it somewhere else. No, I kept on doing my job with this ungainly lump pushing between my shoulder blades.

Pretty soon I found myself getting short-tempered and frustrated as I tried to work.

Finally, I’d had enough and pulled the damn thing off my chair. And in that moment, I recognized a pattern of behavior that has plagued me for most of my life: I remain in uncomfortable, unpleasant, and downright awful situations far too long.

“That’s you all over,” I said to myself.

Indeed, it is.

I think of the jobs, the relationships, the people, and the locations where I spent far too much time being miserable without taking any serious action to change my situation.

There’s a quote by Jim Rohn that says “if you don’t like how things are, change it. You are not a tree.”

Stuff & Nonsense

I may not be a tree, but I sure as hell behaved like one. I stay rooted in my misery, getting angry—like those mean old apple trees that attacked Dorothy and the Scarecrow.

Since I’m putting so much into changing during 2019, I’d like see if I can rid of myself of this unfortunate tendency.

A large part of this comes from fear. I’ve always been wary or downright scared of changing my routines or trying something different.

Of course, routines weren’t always routine—they were new at some point in our lives and we made the decision to try something new. Then they become familiar, and then comfortable, and somethings they can be unhealthy.

I often joke about staying home with Chinese takeout and a DVD on weekend nights, but it’s really not that funny.

I live in New York City, one of the most exciting places in the world, yet some nights I might as well be holed up in a cabin someplace in the Caucasus Mountains.

I’ve recently parted company with some situations and people in my life and in both cases I was very unhappy and desperate to get away. Yet I stayed with them without making an attempt to get out.

Once again, I let these conditions exist for far too long, I planted myself in rocky soul and complained about being stuck.

I’ve been a bit lax in my Hey 19 resolutions lately. I haven’t been socializing enough and I would like to get back on track.

One of my Chinese dinners came with a fortune that said “Let your social instincts off the leash and talk to all and sundry.” Sounds like good advice to me.

I give myself credit for catching myself in this negative pattern. You can’t solve a problem until you face it.

Now it’s time for action, so I can enjoy life and avoid all those flying monkeys.