In last week’s post from the Journey Home I shared a video from my life in the slow lane, which, even I have to admit, almost looks too dreamy and vibrant to be believed. There was nothing enhanced or staged about it, though. My last month in Mexico was every bit as lit and magical as it looks.
And, like the weather, we all know that things can change on a dime.
You can feel so full and expanded by life, happily gliding along in your lane, when the landscape changes. The road that was so clear and spacious before suddenly becomes narrow and bumpy.
In a flash your world can go from warm, colorful, and dreamy to cold, monochromatic, and squeamy (if that’s even a word)…
As mine appears to be as I write this.
Yes, like astronauts entering the Earth’s atmosphere after months floating at zero gravity, our return to New England was a sudden and painful jolt to the system — slammed as we were by snow and freezing temperatures and no promise of spring anywhere…
…well, save for few daffodils in our front yard bravely holding it together.
( I know, boo hoo, first world problem.)
But that’s not where I’m going with this. The real point is not about the weather — be it real or metaphoric — but how to respond to changes we don’t like.
How do we respond to unpleasant circumstances that don’t match our picture of how things should be? How do we hang out with what is without pining for what isn’t?
In the end we do have a choice.
To borrow a phrase from spiritual teacher, Byron Katie, we could “argue with reality.” We could push back, resist, complain. We could let the cold and gloom (in my case) get to us.
Feeling miserable is an option.
Or,
We could enter into the experience with beginner’s mind, lean in, readjust expectations, gratefully accept the gloves, warm jacket, and the blessing of a warm house (in my case). Feeling cozy and grateful is an option too.
I for one am choosing the latter — not as a given, but as an intentional practice. Until something changes, for now I will do my best to slow down, I will watch the snow fall, I will rest in quiet beauty as it unfolds (see video below).
And shoot, if those daffodils can hold their own, perhaps I can too.
How about you? Pleasant or unpleasant…
What is your world inviting you to enter into right now?
Not as a one-and-done, but as a spacious practice.
Ahhh 🏡
Resting in Beauty
When how you see is what you get. [Best with sound]
In case you missed it…
Getting Out There
What is it that you are ready to get out there and do… (or just simply start)? Not sure? Let the music in the video lift you up and take you there. And if you’re still unmoved, perhaps this passage by writer Alan Watts can give you courage: “You are under no obligation to be the same person you were five minutes ago.” 🙌🏼
Yes, if the daffodils can do it we can too! Love that! And even with our cold snow we can embrace the warmth our houses and the coziness. Yea, It’s all in how we view it.