Pressure

Pressure                                                      October 2019

One of the most common items which pops up when I have called for a physical inspection of a home is the pressure regulator. With rare exceptions, the pressure outside the regulator, which comes from the city water authority, is greater than the pressure needed in the house. This can cause serious problems when the regulator is not performing its job.   Faucets and toilets can have leaks on the supply side. Valves can fail. Washing machines can leak. Even pipes occasionally burst with disastrous results. When the regulator is replaced with one that operates properly, normalcy in the system is restored.

The world in which we human’s live has pressures. Some are simple or short lived like a lost paycheck or a car that won’t start.   Others are overwhelming like the death of a child or a spouse. A medical diagnosis can be a catastrophic interruption in the way which we thought life was supposed to go. My mama called death the ultimate embarrassment though she didn’t mean the moment it happened. She meant all of the challenges that lead up to the end over which we have no control and certainly no options.

Some pressure is self inflicted from bad choices we make. A moment of anger on the freeway, acceptance of an illegal drug, partnering with the wrong person, and over spending fall into that category. Other stressors arrive completely uninvited.

What do we use as pressure regulators?   I think the home is an excellent one. Once that front door closes, there is a sense of security and protection unlike that of any other place on the earth. When the environment in the home becomes anything less than “safe,” it no longer has that quality. The peace in the home takes the pressure off. Any destruction of that peace becomes a threat to one of the most important places humans can be. It takes work to maintain the peace of which I speak, but what it accomplishes is worth every bit of the effort.

Another pressure regulator is the in pouring of a favorite activity. Watching a sporting event, nurturing a child, creating a garden, writing a letter to a dear friend or relation, and creating the perfect comfort food all fit the bill. When done in the home mentioned above, the effect is more than doubly satisfying.   Done with family or friends trebles the benefit.

Finally, contemplating human existence in all its nuances by reflecting on what the Bible has to say about our life’s activities, adds an outside source to our report card of values.   When we know, really know, that we are doing the right things, we are empowered with a vigor that cannot be easily quelled. In a movie one character said, “I don’t get headaches. I give them.” That actor did not have the right spirit, but the idea of being in control takes the pressure off as fear and anxiety melt in front of our intentions. Mother Theresa said, “Reach high, for stars live hidden in your soul. Dream deep for every dream precedes the goal.”

The finest defense against pressure is the humble knowledge that we are doing the right thing.