I have jury duty this week. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the jury duty system in Los Angeles, we are placed “on call” for one week. We call in every evening to find out whether we’re expected to be present the next day. The entire week may pass without a request, in which case one’s obligation is fulfilled.

Having said that, though, no plans can be made during the week because there is no way to know whether the next day might be the one you are summoned.

On the whole, the system works reasonably well. I’d rather be on call than sitting in a jury room every day.

On the other hand, I can’t make any plans!

My challenge this week involves incorporating a extra element of flexibility into my attitude.

I could feel put out and resentful. I could become overwhelmed by the sudden shifts. I could feel like my life is on hold and not make progress on important projects. This strange sort of week could throw me for quite a loop.

But if I choose to be flexible. If I choose projects that can be put on hold temporarily. If I let people know my situation, then a sudden absence cannot wreak as much havoc.

I have quite a bit of room for choices, even if I don’t know what I’ll be doing tomorrow. As long as I recognize that those choices are mine and make them, then this week of public service need not be the negative intrusion that I often mistake it for.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 12th, 2009 at 9:07 am and is filed under Loving Monday. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.