Good Morning, Creator!
Thanks for providing me with a full day and opportunity to feel fulfilled, worthwhile, connected, and satisfied. I believe you are always creating ways for me to add to my life, to get what I’m looking for. The manifestation of these desires comes from how I choose, and if I dare.
I want to acknowledge, Great Spirit, how important it is to me that I stay mindful of our relationship. That you are present; with me. Not in a small, minutia way, like moving pieces on a chess board to make certain outcomes happen. (But, maybe you do that, too?)
No, the sense I have and appreciate, is this overwhelmingly loving and interconnected Universe; so complex and sophisticated in how it provides opportunity and challenge for all; for me. The sense I have, that no matter where I am and how I’m challenged, if I face my challenge with humility and integrity, with my compassion intact; I will be afforded loving connection, which will sustain and elevate me.
Yesterday, Joy and I participated in a Starlight Snowshoeing Tour through L.L. Bean’s Outdoor Discovery School. What a blast!
It’s probably the kind of thing I would not have done in the past; instead, getting caught up more in concerns of “not knowing” and “not excelling, not doing well enough.” I would have been uncomfortable and nervous, interacting with my new co-workers and complete strangers in an extended and intimate situation.
So, I would have missed out. In fact, I realize not that, for years, I did miss out. Yet, those opportunities to dare, and to connect, continue. They are part of the Flowing River of Life.
So, we went on our snowshoeing adventure, guided by Dan and Hilary, and joined by two other women. It was a lot of fun spending time with Dan and Hilary, away from the store – doing something fun, relaxing, energetic, and outdoors; and learning from Dan’s wealth of knowledge and experience in the outdoors.
Also, there’s something magical that seems to happen when you get to know people a little deeper – unexpected connections are discovered. This phenomenon happens to my wife…a lot! I used to think she had this odd bit of luck, where seeming strangers would produce some friendship or relationship that would thread back to her.
Now, as I’ve begun to interact and share more, I’ve found the materialization of these connections is true for me, and others, as well. Take Dan, for example. One day at work I overheard Dan mention that he was a former National Park Service Ranger. I had a really strong hunch, so I asked him where he had worked. It’s quite a list; but, it did include Olympic National Park, where my close friend from high school had worked in the 80’s and 90’s. Sure enough, Dan not only knew my friend; Dan was the fellow that hired him for some of those seasons.
And, the two women who joined us last night? One had a friend who had worked in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, another place Dan had worked. The other woman is a minister, and is actually going to be substituting in a couple weeks at the church my wife’s best friend and godson attend, down in Massachusetts.
It’s amazing, and heart-warming and comforting to me, how these threads of connection materialize. When I am saddened by the derision and judgment I hear, especially now in our political conversations; I hold onto hope that these threads be seen, that we may all understand our unique and interwoven relationships with everything else.
I hope we can choose the best of our natures. I hear such fear and rancor in these conversations – this does not open us to connection and communication with the world around us.
I have witnessed the results in my own life – of choosing a path of authenticity and integrity. At times, being my true self and daring leads me to stumble and fall; and, in falling, I have felt vulnerable. But, I see now that thinking I am vulnerable isn’t always the same as being vulnerable.
The image that, if I fall, the vultures will have at me. Well, sometimes I fall, and the vultures don’t even notice. Sometimes the vultures come, but I’m strong enough and resilient enough to rise again.
And, sometimes I fall, and someone else reaches out and catches me, or helps me up.
And sometimes I’m able to do the catching; the helping up.
Thank you, Spirit Guides, for the many, many times you’ve lifted me up!
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