Today I dedicate my joy to raindrops. Let's call them, Joydrops. I was out running errands and saw the sky turning grey in my rearview mirror. But I had no fear. I kept my eyes forward and the clouds only burst when I was safely inside. From this vantage point, I could enjoy the serene beauty of rain.
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This morning I dragged myself out of bed in a pre-dawn hour to get to a doctor's appointment. I didn't want to act joyful at that hour, so I allowed myself to be in the state I found myself-half asleep and groggy. *DING* a mini moment of joy in self acceptance.
I entered the office with the intention of not accepting any drug prescriptions because I know my mind is more powerful than my body, and I thought I could fix myself-silly ego. At the current moment, and entire preceding week, I let my mind give into childish thoughts and my body suffered. It was visibly clear to the doctor who shared with me what he saw. He saw the potential that I could cease struggling and be radiant. A total stranger recognized my distance from joy and honestly cared that I return to it. Thats when I started believing in his medicine. I also began to see the truth in the statement that, 'you can't find yourself by yourself.' Swallowing the pill physically helped me transform my ego mentally. I chose the path towards joy, and the rest of my day was joyful. *DING* Living in the South, snow, sleet, and ice all in one day is kind of 'a big deal.' If you live in Atlanta, like my father, rush hour traffic is also 'your worst nightmare'-one that you relive every day. And when these two worlds collide... watch out! My father was one of hundreds of everyday Joe's who got caught up in Atlanta's ice-induced gridlock nightmare that lasted 72 hours. It happens about once every three years and gets progressively worse each time. But this blog is not about climate change or urban planning and the unique opportunities available at their intersection. I digress. Today is about the joy in expressing the most basic feelings of genuine concern for a loved one's comfort, safety, and well being. A casual phone call to my mother revealed that my Dad had spent the night in Home Depot after eight hours of sitting on a clogged highway. It was such a foreign idea reserved for such terrifying events where passer-by's need to seek refuge from tornadoes, zombies, or terrorists attacks. I had to call my Dad and check in. Now it's my style to talk to people like they live the same lifestyle as I, and get them to react as if I assumed they would behave like me. So I asked my Dad if was meditating to pass the time and remain calm. He said he was praying-did that count? Yes, 100%! Connecting your conscious thoughts with the faith and belief that an energy source stronger than you is available to help co-create your desired outcome of reality is opening yourself up to the grace and power of the unknown. I've never heard my father talk about his prayer life before today. I've even heard him talk about my mother's spiritual life on multiple occasions, but never his own. Sometimes it feels weird when something great has to come out of something yucky. Nonetheless, when I expressed my empathy for his situation, he showed me that we are more alike than I knew. Running. Challenging myself. Feeling the burn in my sides and telling my body that it can keep going. Gasping out that, ‘I want to give up!’ The verbal release of frustration and vulnerability felt so right in that space as I rounded the bend, destination in sight, but still so very far away from where I felt in the moment. I don’t consider myself a complainer, and I don’t like to send out vibrations of anger or pain-mostly because I don’t want to magnify them in my own being. Then why am I even writing about this? Well, that’s exactly it. I surprised myself at how I reacted in a new situation. Fortunately, I was able to be patient and gentle with myself as well. In the clarity of suspended time between my strides I was able to see my exclamation as a truth-telling. I do consider myself to speak my truth. And if my body says, ‘help!’, I let her speak. I was hoping my running partner would answer with a motivating urge to push through it, instead, my intuition answered back, ‘you want to, but you won’t!’ And I felt comforted that it’s okay to admit things that my body wants; because I know that my heart holds the greater intelligence. It’s more about being heard than being right. I’m newly aware that my physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies deserve equal respect as collaborative partners in the spectacle that is my life. Super Power = Compassion.
Sometimes I get worried that my nephew's infatuation with superheros will mislead him to fear evil (a lot of ungroundedness in that scenario). Sure, evil is bad, but fear is worse. So I am educating myself here, that he can't go wrong; there is nothing to worry about. If superheros are the catalyst to help him discover his super-power, than c'est la vie. Super Powers are real and we all have the capacity to use them for good. It can be as simple as recognize a fellow human being for what they are-just like us, in every way. Compassion. Treat each person as if they are the love of your life. |
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