The eldest has been deposited at school and the rest of the gang has headed out on a journey to Pop-pop's house, leaving me to my own mischief for the day. I have about 55 minutes before I need to leave the house for a visit to the eye doctor and some errand-running and I SHOULD be cleaning the bird cages right now. The morning sunlight beaming in through the mini blinds and casting it's gleam over the laptop and across the table has distracted and inspired me, however.
As is typical, it has been quite some time since my last Blog post. It's not for lack of things to say or write, believe me! If anything, quite the contrary. I tend to get that "deer in the headlights" feeling and end up frozen in the left lane of Writer's Block! So here I sit, tapping away and realizing that my thoughts are still as scattered as the remnants of the fall leaves in my yard as the wind whips them around on this blustery spring day.
I keep hearing the phrase "Wherever you go, there you are" echo in my mind. (That, by the way, is also the title of a fantastic book by Jon Kabat Zinn). It is such a true statement. We ARE wherever we ARE any time we go anywhere! The beauty of it, and the theme that has been popping up for me again and again of late is that we are ALWAYS where we need to be at a given point in our lives. Even in the midst of turmoil and seeming tragedy, we are where we need to be. It may feel uncomfortable, but it is for our growth.
Now I have two different paths of thought on this as I continue to type:
The "crappy" times help us grow, however, it takes a sense of awareness to allow the growth to occur. Getting bogged down in the severity of the situation does little for our growth and development. (I'm picturing a sad sap sitting under a pile of manure that just keeps falling and falling and falling on top of them.) (stinky) More on this shortly.
The "Happy" times ALSO help us grow, and again, we must have the sense of awareness to recognize the growth opportunity.
It is so easy to get lost in the emotions (whether "crappy" OR "happy") that we are experiencing at a given moment and lose sight of the Inner Potential that is seeking to bloom from the experience. Let's take a quick peek back at the pile of manure (hold your nose), and to help paint the picture, I'm going to borrow an acronym from a women's self-defense seminar that I had the honor of assisting with some time ago. For my part of it, a used the South American 3 banded armadillo (the APAR) as an example. The letters had different meaning for that seminar, but the premise is the same. (btw, this particular Armadillo can roll itself into a complete ball, leaving no opening for predatory attack in it's armor). We could do the same as we are buried under the pile of manure, but if we roll up once we are under there, we'll have all the "crap" inside our shell as well.....
Back to the Apar.
Awareness, Presence, Allowing, REALIZATION
AWARENESS
......a key factor is to recognize the first drop of poo and stay on top of it as it falls. Then, as the pile grows, so too, do we!
PRESENCE
We absolutely MUST remain present in each and every moment. As our attention drifts to the past or future, we miss the NOW. (in the manure example, we miss the flying poo and get a gob in the eye) Looking from a brighter perspective, there is also good to be found in each moment as well. It is entirely possible that a diamond ring is encased within a poo patty!
ALLOWING
As we are aware of our potential, aware of our surroundings, aware of opportunity and present in the moment, we also must ALLOW ourselves to feel and ALLOW those feelings to flow through us. As we open to allowing, we open ourselves to more opportunity for growth, development and unfoldment (a phrase I have learned from Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith).
REALIZATION
Here, we begin to REALIZE the "Can do" attitude. Growth is inherent! It is possible and it IS happening, whether we are ready or not, it's occurring! We also may recognize our need for "AAA(s)" - SOUL-SIDE ASSISTANCE!
(and with that, I must abruptly end this post with a vow to continue and expand on each of the snippets above.....sooner than later....please keep checking back! I will fill in the three A's and also take a short journey through Maslow's hierarchy of needs and more!)
Blessings and Namaste'
