COMMUTING TO WORK

"Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life." 

~ Rumi ~

I have an 84 mile commute one way to work. Because of the hours I travel, I don't deal with too much traffic, and by and large, it's highway driving the whole way. Nonetheless, when people hear this, their reactions range from disbelief to horror. "Oh my God," they say. "How do you do that every day?"
     And the answer is that I just do it, but what they don't know and are challenged to understand is that there is actually blessing in it. It is my quiet, solitary, rolling-down-the-road time. My car is comfortable, and I relish the hours it gives me to process my life.

If I have the right mindset, my whole life is a blessing.

OBSERVING BEAUTY

"We must carry beauty within us or we find it not." 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

I love the discovery of beauty in the most unlikely places- in nursing homes, parking lots, handicapped bodies, and the experience of sadness. There is a soft side of life that is ever present, and if we are quiet on the inside and paying attention, it gives us sustenance, even when all else seems for naught.

I open to the experience of beauty in all places and all things.

PASSING-THE-BUCK

"'I must do something' always solves more problems than 'Something must be done.'" 

~ Author Unknown ~

Being seated in a restaurant the other day, the maitre d and I had to step around a spilled drink on the floor. It was near the table where I was seated and visually a bit disturbing, and no one seemed to be attending to cleaning it up. It was early in the evening, so the restaurant was fairly empty and lots of employees were standing around. Clearly, no one wanted to deal with the mess.
     I finally said something, and the person I told went off to find someone else, who finally came along and did a mediocre job cleaning it up. It was fascinating and a bit disturbing to watch the pass-the-buck syndrome in operation, and the sheer unwillingness among the whole group to take responsibility. If I had access to a rag, I would have cleaned it up myself.
     Let's take a lesson from this and use it to learn what not to do. Let's take ownership and take responsibility and take care. Life is too short to be sloppy.

With good nature and a desire to be helpful, I pitch in to do my part.

SEASONAL TRANSITIONING

"Look to the seasons when choosing your cures." 

~ Hippocrates ~

Winter comes with heavy frosty mornings and berries on the trees, but spots and bits of fall linger. Late changing trees, leaves that hang on and retain their bright colors, dried grasses, certain weeds, and the last-to-turn low lying bushes adamantly stand out and remind us that transition is a slow process. There is no definitive movement or sudden change. There is a slow letting go and a subtle moving forward. That is the nature of the seasons, and that is the nature of all change on all levels in every realm where life exists.

I understand the process of my life by observing the process of transition in Nature.

BEING OUTSIDE

"Nature never did betray the heart that loved her." 

~ William Wordsworth ~

I love to be outdoors, especially this time of year. It's not too hot, and not too cold yet... just perfect... for walking, for sitting and listening to the birds, for throwing the ball for the dog, for setting up a table in the sunlight and working on my computer... Just to be in the fresh air, to listen to the leaves that remain- there are still a few- rustling in the tree branches when the breeze comes along and stirs them up, to feel the shorter day sunshine warm on my face- this is heaven on earth to be sure. It pleases me on such a deep level that I am filled with joy simply to experience it! The weather! The wind! The glory of nature and the sensational delight of being alive and outside.

I take time each day to enjoy being out in the fresh air. It's good for the body and good for the soul.

HAVING A FULL PLATE

"Everything is something you decide to do." 

~Denis Waitly ~

I get to feeling burdened sometimes with all that's on my plate, and yet, I have chosen it- down to the last morsel. And remembering that I have choices helps me. I can stop anything at anytime. There will be consequences, required changes, things that I have to adjust, but adjustment is possible- more possible than I sometimes realize.
     Plus, remembering that I choose what I do makes it feel more palatable somehow. There are reasons for everything in place in my life that are legitimate, that make sense, and that are the result of what was originally positive, exciting, and fresh.
     So I needn't whine or feel like a victim, because I am not. My life is my choice, and I make it anew every day that I live.

I recognize the power of choice in my life and appreciate all that I choose.

WHAT WE DON'T KNOW

"Always when judging

Who people are

Remember to footnote

The words 'So far.'" 

~Robert Brault ~

We think we have a secret understanding of the future, of what's going to happen to people if they keep on going the way they're going. We are certain that we know best what they should do and how they should go about doing it. We get them all straightened out in our minds. If only they would listen to us!
     And yet, as experience after experience plays out, we find that not always, but often, we are dead wrong. Things work out that seemed impossible, circumstances twist and shift, accidents happen, and so do unexpected windfalls and softening edges with the passage of time.
     I think we would do better to worry about our own unfolding, and leave the journey of others up to them.

I catch myself thinking I know better in terms of other people and turn my attention back to issues of my own.