TRANSITIONS

"Those who expect moments of change to be comfortable and free of conflict have not learned their history."

~ Joan Wallach Scott ~

Our pup, Tank, is home from training camp, and not only has he grown in size, but his demeanor has shifted. It's what we had hoped for, and yet, it leaves us all a bit adrift. 

He has been in a highly structured environment, and seems unsure about all this home front freedom, and we are clumsy with the new commands. 

     We will find our way. I am certain of that.

     Nonetheless, this transition, like all transitions, feels awkward, 

and makes me want to eat lots of ice cream. 

I am a work in progress. 

ALL THAT IS

"You are the universe in ecstatic motion."

~ Rumi ~

From the moment we open our eyes in the morning, 

life as we know it, begins: 

the things we notice, our choice for breakfast, the world of our routines. 

When we fall asleep at night, 

the whole world disappears 

until we wake again. 

Nothing exists for us 

that we do not participate in or witness, 

and, 

as such,

we are the 

source 

of 

all that is. 

My very existence creates the world I experience. 

WHAT TO SAY, WHAT TO DO?

"Love truth and fear not-

Do good and be happy."

~ Simeon Carter ~

We have a tendency to want to work things out in our minds in advance of their actually happening. We script the conversation: 

If he says this, I'll say that, 

and we carefully design a plan of action steps: 

first, second, third... 

But how often do things play out as we imagine they will? 

And are we ever at a loss for knowing what to say or do? 

I would argue that 

spontaneous responsiveness 

to whoever and whatever appears 

is far more effective in every instance 

than some over-practiced scenario 

we have come up with in our heads. 

I trust my intuitive knowing.

BREATHE IN, BREATHE OUT, LOOK AROUND

"We should purify our innate well of contentment."

~ Ekhart Tolle ~

Authentic presence is the embodiment of God.

Divine peace is accessible now.

THE PRIVILEGE OF CHOOSING

"In the field of indecision, nothing ever grow but the weeds of 'what-if?'"

~ Dodinsky ~

Sometimes we are indecisive because we want to keep our options open.

We don't want to choose because we're afraid we might choose wrong,

We think if we wait and see for long enough, then maybe life will decide for us,

And relieve us of the responsibility.

But then we've given up the very privilege 

that we might do better

to keep. 

I don't cop out on making choices. I weigh the options and pick one. 

TRYING THINGS

"The purpose of life is to frustrate you."

~ Ekhart Tolle ~

Some of the things we pursue in life are like trees that never bear fruit: something about the soil conditions or the light. If we move on to something else, the bounty can be prodigious, but for whatever reason, the first effort fell flat.
     We think we know where we're headed and what will work, but so often we're wrong and it doesn't. The Universe has other plans. And the lesson is not to stop trying things, but to stop taking the outcome of the things we try so seriously, as if our worth is all tied up in it. It's curiosity and play and experimentation that we're meant to be about, not success and failure and living or not living up to our potential.
     I used to think it was just that, but now I see, that yet again, I was mistaken.

Our worth is not attached to how poorly or well our big ideas play out. 

It's far more secure than that. 

NOTICING

"Not being able to govern events, I govern myself."

~ Michel de Montaigne ~

There is unexpected comfort in the background sounds of our lives when our minds are quiet enough to notice them: water running, the tearing of paper towels, the opening and closing of drawers and doors, the turning of container caps, the tick of a wall clock, our breath. Life is full of blessings if we will only listen, and look, and stop surfing the waves of our mind noise.

The sounds of life happening empty and fill the silence that surrounds me.