INSPIRED BY CICADAS

     Apparently the cicadas are coming and will be here in swarms, more populous than the imagination can conceive. Their time has cycled around again. But where are they coming from, and where have they been while they've been gone? And where is the oak tree in the acorn and the honey in the bee?
     Life is full of wonderful mysteries and unending miracles. Let's take a little time each day to appreciate all of the incredible realities of our world that we cannot begin to understand, and accept the possibility that there is wonder within us as well as around us, and that delights and surprises never cease.

I embrace possibility and the beautiful mysteries of the unknown.

WILLING TO BEND

         The guiding principle of life is change. Just when we get comfortable, discomfort erupts; just as we make peace, new conflict confronts us, and just as we learn the rules, the rules change. It's a never-ending process of adjustment and revision, and there is both frustration and refreshment in this fact.
     In a world that is constantly shifting, we attach ourselves with gusto to whatever we can in order to feel secure, but the only real security lies in adaptability. We must learn to be flexible or we will be broken at every turn.

I resist the desire to force certainty and predictability on my life and my future. I am open and willing to change.

PREPARING FOR WHATEVER MAY COME

     Just because it's raining doesn't mean we can't take a walk. We can walk in any weather. Conditions do not have to be perfect in order to set out. We simply have to dress differently and prepare for the possibility that we might get wet.

I don't have to wait for things to be just right. I can make adjustments and adapt myself to circumstances such as they are.

POSITIVE ATTITUDE

     A positive attitude makes all the difference. I go through a toll booth every day and interact with toll booth operators of all kinds. Some of them do their job and stop there. And some of them are visibly annoyed to have to deal with me at all, especially if I ask them for some kind of favor- my change a certain way, for instance. But some of them are smiley and happy to help, and it's a moment of warmth and pleasure to exchange energy with them. And I go away a little lighter and brighter for the experience.
     So the question and the consideration is... which type of person are we?

I choose to be pleasant. A smile feels so much better than a scowl.

OUR LUCK

     We all use the expression "with my luck" as if we have terrible luck and bad things always happen. But if we're honest, don't plenty of good things happen as well? And the bad things aren't really "luck" are they, so much as the nature of life being life? I believe to my core that divine mercy is always at work in our lives, and that if we only received what we deserved, we might all have substantially less than we do.
     So let's change our perspective. Let's be grateful for all of the hardship and accidents that we've missed, and learn to take our challenges as they come in stride and with grace, trusting that ultimately, even the most difficult of situations can, and usually does, turn out to bless us in the end.

I am blessed beyond measure in ways I cannot even begin to properly comprehend.

FREEDOM FROM RESENTMENT

     The source of resentment is resistance so the anecdote to it is acceptance, and consequently, forgiveness. We perceive that we have been wronged, that someone's behavior is reprehensible and not ok... and yet, we rarely ask ourselves if we have ever done the same given similar circumstances. We can feel disappointed, frustrated, hurt, etc, for the way others behave, but if we are spiritually fit, we must not judge, lest we be judged. We have to remember that when we point a finger at someone, there are three other fingers pointing back at us.
     If we want to stop feeling angry and done-to, we have to divvy up some forgiveness. We have to allow others their mistakes and trust them to do the best they can with the information and tools that they have. Let's give them the dignity of self-correction and not harp at them and nag and rifle with blame.

I accept the mistakes of others and do not take them personally or hold a grudge. I am understanding and forgiving.

ASKING FOR HELP

     I have times when I make my situation out to be more pathetic than it really is in order to solicit sympathy or pity, or to manipulate some kind of guilt payment in cash or services or whatever it might be. And I never feel good about myself when I do this so I need to stop.
     I may be pathetic in some ways, but I don't need to advertise that. I can honor what's best in me and in my life and live full of gratitude for what I have. I need not whine and supplicate myself in order to get what I want.
     There are different ways to ask for help. Let's choose the one that does not belittle us. Let's ask straight-up. Let's ask free from excuses and stories and over-explanations.

I ask for help from a position of strength instead of weakness. I don't have to paint a miserable picture of myself and make a case for pity.