EMBRACING THE UNKNOWN

"I do not know what is untried and afterwards, but I know it will, in its turn, prove sufficient, and cannot fail."

~Walt Whitman~

I want what I want when I want it. Don't we all? But the truth is, if life were easy that way, it might lose some of its appeal. Roadblocks point us to a better way, and delays mean that it's not yet time.
     I want things on my terms, but there's a limit to my point-of-view. And if I'm honest with myself, not knowing is exciting in a way. There's a distinctive and delicious pleasure that comes from the intrigue of what I cannot possibly foresee.

If I don't have instantaneous success, it does not mean that I fail, but only that more creativity is required.

LIVING IN A WEB

"Man is a knot into which relationships are tied."

~Antoine de Saint Exupery~

It's hard work to count on people, so it's no wonder that we tend towards self-sufficiency the way we do. It seems easier to take care of things ourselves than to have to wait and accommodate and entreat and plead in order to have others participate in our vision. It's tough to be in need of a favor, and to need help, and to simply not be able to go it alone. And yet, that is the nature of life. That is how it is and how it should be. We live in a web, not in a tunnel.
     And so, learning patience and learning acceptance and learning to trust  in the process when the pieces simply don't seem to be coming together the way we want them to is a challenging business. But it's what we're here for, at least in part, so I guess we better learn...

I cannot control other people- not their timing or their inclinations or their method of response- so I am willing to let go and trust.

ASSUMPTIONS

"Live truth instead of professing it."

~Elbert Hubbard~

More often than not, we base our opinions on assumptions rather than facts. We make our judgments impulsively, at the first indication of any sort of a position that we are familiar with. We know how we feel about things, or think we do, and so we habitually fall on the same side of most arguments and mental positions. We go there automatically, in a kind of default mode.
     And consequently, we miss the whole other side of the story. We fix our stance and defend it to the hilt. But perhaps, if we actually took the time to clearly understand the whole situation, we might end up with a very different point-of-view.

I catch myself jumping to conclusions before I have all of the facts, and I slow down. I am willing to pay attention, and listen with care.

FOR CONSIDERATION

"There is no value in life except what you choose to place upon it..."

~Lin Yutang~

Would you give up your eyesight for a million dollars? How about a billion?

Perhaps, considering the above question and answering it honestly helps to put the value of things in their proper perspective.

There are some things that no amount of money can buy.

BLESSED

"The struggle ends when the gratitude begins."

~Neale Donald Walsch~

 

I am grateful for my good health and the colors of nature. I am grateful for the hint of fall in the air and the feeling of release through tears and laughter. I am grateful for our German Shepard's soft ears and spontaneous dancing in the kitchen with my husband. I am grateful for goose-down pillows and songs I can sing along to; for uplifting movies, Black-Eyed Susans, and home grown tomatoes. I am grateful for words and the art of writing, for family dinners and acoustic guitars, and for the ever-turning wheel of life.

I make it a daily habit to acknowledge the blessings in my life.

MIRACLES

"The real miracle does not lie in the outer event, in the apparent good or bad fortune... The real miracle lies in the spiritual purpose behind the event."

~Paul Ferrini~

Miracles are not always evident on the surface of our lives where we can easily see them. More often, they come from the inside, in the form of a change of heart or a shift in perspective that restores us to inner peace and acceptance when we have been all twisted up in knots and full of angst. We are suddenly free from the deluge of circular thinking and able to appreciate the simple pleasures of life.
     So let's stop looking for miracles in everything externally coming together just the way we want it to, and open instead to the subtle, but powerful internal miracles that happen every day.

I accept and appreciate that a fresh perspective that gives me emotional relief is no less of a miracle than the parting of the seas.

LOVE

"Love is not consolation. It is light."

~Friedrich Nietzsche~

Self-sacrifice and martyrdom are not love; they are sickness and dysfunction. Love allows for the care of everyone involved. It does not claim victims or seek subservience. It wants everybody upright and honest and in their best light. Love is not shadowy or questionable. It is straight-forward and crystal clear, unapologetic, authentic, and full of the right stuff.

 

I stop pretending that self-sacrificing is love.