The Days It All Goes South

We've all had them, those days when you wake up thinking it's just a normal day, or better yet, when you've made plans that had you getting out and accomplishing a lot of tasks, going to appointments, or maybe even some pleasurable pursuits were planned.....and then it happens, the day rapidly deteriorates into something you have no control over. I had that kind of day last Monday. Without much detail, because really our own personal little dramas can be quite boring, I'll just say NOTHING went as planned. Everything became inconvenient, a royal pain, a series of unintended fiascos. "Okay", I thought, "breathe, relax", I even laughed for a moment at how perfectly everything fell apart! Now I know I don't have any real control over life, but I felt confident that surely everything would right itself in no time....on my timetable. Ha! Things went from bad to worse to scary. Still not going to go into detail, because my personal drama may not affect you the same way, and vice versa, so let's just say......from my perspective the day went to hell in a hand basket.

So I meditate, and I pray, and I center myself in the morning before I even get out of bed. I drink tea, I take long baths, I walk in the snow and the rain, I snuggle my little girl, I love on my kitty cats, I smile all the time....and I love to listen to my beloved Celtic music and classical music too. All these things keep me in a seemingly perfect state of tranquility.....unless and until my sense of self-importance gets in the way....then it all goes downhill. Glad to know I'm human though. Sometimes the Universe kicks me in the arse just to show me this point. Thank you....lesson learned, this time around.

What we deem as a bad day is just the ebb and flow of life, I know this now, a day out from one of the most maddening days I've had in a long time. Even in the middle of it, in my foggy brain somewhere, I think I knew that I needed to just let it all be. When I rush around too much, when I muti-task (in my opinion, definitely not a virtue), I usually get called up short by the little old lady driving way too slow in front of me, or the guy who has to go inside the convenience store and pay for his gas, and then stands in line with his hot dog and gigantic coke, when he knows I'm waiting to get to the pump, he knows I'm in a hurry. This is how self-important I can get, because it's all about me isn't it? Well, the answer to that my friends, is that yes, it is all about you. It's about a very benevolent Universe giving us opportunities to transcend the trivial, the things that fill our days with frustration, it's about being so loved by a greater power that it's constantly showing us we don't have to suffer our little dramas all the time. How's that for a kind and loving response to our prayers and longings that everything go our way? I came to this realization after seeing just how often frustrations came up for me in life....this isn't happening according to my timetable, or that person is behaving in a way that doesn't suit me or a particular situation, or whatever. It seemed to me there must be a better way around the ups and downs that so regularly showed up in my life. There is.....

It's called "releasing the outcome". So make your plans, set the clock, expect to get out the door on time, have your daytimer filled to the brim with appointments and meetings, but then allow some space for life to ebb and flow. I will go ahead and plan today and follow through, but I will not preconceive the outcome. I will move at a comfortable pace, I will allow space between my moments in the day. It sounds all so Zen-like, doesn't it? What I learned two days ago is that I simply cannot outline good enough. This is a play on words here.....I cannot outline well enough....and I cannot outline enough good for myself. It can be read either way. My terrible day, my missed appointments, my plans gone awry, turned out to be just the glitch I needed in my timetable for some really good things to happen. The person I so desperately needed to meet with Monday, and ended up cancelling with, led me to hooking up with a much more available and knowledgeable person today. My having to be home most of Monday allowed me to answer a call for help from a dear lady who really needed me to assist her family with a crisis that proved to be a blessing to all involved. Had I been out busily pursuing my agenda, I would have been unavailable to this call.....and would have missed an experience that was one of the most moving things I've ever gotten to be a part of. Blessings in disguise can be those things we think have gone awry. We never know what we are saved from when they occur....or where they are going to lead us.

So, my simple story of a "bad" day is just an example of learning to not let the ebb and flow of life get us all bent out of shape. Things happen for a reason. They just do. We are loved and looked after, I am convinced. Call it what you will....."divine providence", a guardian angel, or whatever you believe in......but everything is here for us to use and learn by. And we either learn by pain, or we learn by wisdom. It's our choice. And that is something we do have control over.....how we choose to respond.

Until next time....blessings upon your heart

Cindy