ROAD TRAVEL

     Traffic caused by a bad accident is an interesting situation. We are inconvenienced and frustrated. Our plans are delayed. But not nearly so much as the people and vehicles that have crashed. In some cases their lives may never be the same again.
     So if we are stuck in accident traffic, let's be patient and compassionate. Let's be grateful that we are alive and well and in one piece. It is by the grace of God that we survive as much road travel as we do.

I am thankful every time I arrive safely at my destination. Our roads and speeds and a world of distracted drivers make for dangerous conditions.

MY NEED TO KNOW

     I have a tendency to resist the unfolding process of things in my life. I want to know exactly what's coming and what I will have to deal with, so I can deal with it, and move on, and not be left drifting indefinitely in a sea of waiting and not-knowing. If suffering is imminent, then I want the full blow all at once and early on so I can get it over with as quickly as possible.
     At least, that's what I think I want. But actually, there is beauty in the maybe phase of things. In the indefinite mist of uncertainty is the dim outline of all possibility. I think I want clarity- yes and no, cut and dry, checkmarks on a list- done, done, done, but life is not meant to be clean and tidy and all put away. It's meant to be lived-in and constantly revolving: messy sometimes, and confusing. It's meant to be glory and compassion, heights and depths, hope, and doubt. I want to learn to trust whatever comes and stop my urgent and tyrannical desire to know what I don't yet know.

I curiously welcome the unfolding process of my life. There is nothing I need to know until I know it.

WE DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING

     The easiest person to fool is ourselves. We believe whatever we think, and we can concoct some wild thoughts without much effort. And quick on the tail of our thinking is our power of justification. We can convince ourselves of anything.
     But life always comes along to set us straight. If we cannot learn to question our thinking and check it through with reliable others; if we insist on knowing everything and being sure about what we know, then life is sure to humble us and show us all the things we don't know, and all the things we're wrong about. Which lessons are usually quite painful.
     So let's be open to our own fallibility and remain teachable and willing to consider the possible truth of opposing points of view. If we are able to do that, we may be able to save ourselves a lot of stress and strain.

I do not insist on my point-of-view. I am willing to hear what others have to say.

THE PURITY OF DOGS

     A dog leaning out of a car window with ears flapping and tongue hanging is a happy sight. There is something pure and joyful in it: the simple pleasure of wind in the face. Dogs are excellent spiritual teachers for us, and cats as well but in a different way.
     Dogs read the energy of people and respond appropriately. They are loyal and protective and forgiving. They love without conditions, and they are wonderful purveyors of pure joy. Let's take the lead from them and be tail wagging happy to say hello to the people we love and to eat our meals with gusto and to play without stopping. Let's give and receive unconditional love and be up for anything anytime. Let's be aware of sounds and strangers and the smell of good things.

I let my dog teach me about love and how to experience pure joy.

CLEAN LIVING

     I used to think that I needed to drink in order to relax, to celebrate, to be comfortably social, and to have fun. But the effects of drinking always had a cost for me, and I think they do for most people. Alcohol creates a need in us, and a false sense of promise and dependency, but rather than delivering on its promise, alcohol always seems to rob us of something. We think we're so clever after a few drinks, but generally speaking, we're not. More often, we become see-through fools.
     The best relaxation and celebration and good times I know are alcohol free. There's no hangover and no guilt and no dull fuzz. I experience the real blessings of things instead of seeing and understanding them through the haze of booze.

I don't need a drink. My life is better beyond compare when I am alcohol free.

SUMMER PASSING

     The summer is full of heat and storms- sun, clouds, rain, lightening, puddles, and intermittent drought. Vegetables and flowers grow and wilt. Weeds come back over and over. Summer feels more like endurance to me than invigoration, especially during a heat wave. But the truth is, as with all things, it passes fast. Already, I sense a hint of fall in the light and the air.
     All weather and all seasons come and go in a kind of dream, and we are beyond them before we know it. So let's embrace each summer day that remains. Let's notice and appreciate the hotness, the thunderstorms, and even the humidity. It will pass in a flash and we will find ourselves missing it and wondering where it went.

I notice and fully appreciate the weather and the day, every day.

RELATIVITY

     Everything is relative- time, popularity, intelligence, fitness, courage, faith... Some days and in some situations we have more of these things than we do in others. Just because we may feel a lack a confidence in one environment, and be quiet and shy, in a different situation where we are more comfortable, we may find ourselves being quite lively.
     And with some things we are scared like a small child, while facing other obstacles we are brave beyond our wildest dreams. We feel naïve. We feel wise. Time creeps and speeds. Variability is the nature of life, so we need never lock ourselves or anyone else into a stuck-fast position. We change, from morning to night, from day to day, and from week to year. This is a blessing! And it keeps things interesting and ever-fresh.
     There is no room for any kind of complacency in life. The only thing that's for sure is the exact moment we are experiencing and our ability to change.

I am never stuck. Mutability is the law of life.