Throughout time, teachers have taught the wisdom of the power of thought, reminding us it’s a creative, energetic laser beam.  Fortunately, these wisdoms have come into current consciousness through affirmations.  One of my favorites is “Where my attention goes, my power goes.”

But,  I have also discovered that irrespective of the intensity of my attention or conscious belief that I can make things happen – life does the happening.  Sometimes things go as I think and want; other times, they go totally differently.

……… In simple things – fixing dinner for friends, having thought lovingly and excitedly about the evening, I accidentally dropped the cake as I took it out of the oven.

……….In bigger things – feeling an excitement of moving, putting my home on the market, I discovered that no one was interested in buying.

………..In BIG things – loving someone dearly and seeing a life with them, I watched them leave.

I’m not unique, quite the contrary, all of us, no matter how hard we might try to circumvent life’s critical eruptions, they come anyway.  Here, we find ourselves face-to-face with the reality that life happens – in its own way.

∞ ∞ ∞

Being a mindful person, trained to seek understanding, I went looking for insights into the relationship between my thoughts and life.   Fortunately, there are a lot of places to go –  science, religion, spirituality, psychology, poetry, art for starters.

For awhile, knowledge helped.  From a distanced vantage point, I could look back into my life and better understand “Why” something happened.  And, more often than not, the initial angst transformed into gratitude.

I also discovered that I was becoming more aware of the smaller eruptions during the day.  This gave me the chance to remember the affirmations and choose my thoughts.

But then there were the days when I found myself smack-dab in the midst of an unwanted, uncomfortable situation.  It took me awhile, but I finally realized that my successes  with transforming past conclusions and small disturbances had lulled me into believing that when the tougher storms came, they wouldn’t be as big or at least, they would be easier to get through.

∞ ∞ ∞

Albert Einstein once said “There are only 2 ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is.”

As it turns out, the miracle he was speaking of is not that the storms don’t come or that we easily circumvent them.  The miracle is life itself – it’s full range of experience and feeling.  Perhaps this is what Eleanor Roosevelt was referring to when she said “Life is a daring adventure, or nothing at all.”

∞ ∞ ∞

For me, as each day passed, knowledge morphed into a way of living.  As I wake-up, I turn my attention to the newness of the day.  If my thoughts wander to worry, I remind myself that the day has the same excitement of planning a trip with anticipation of discovery when the familiar feels new and when new feels expansive.

In quiet moments, I sit with the Buddhist wisdom of “Impermanence” and life’s ever changing nature.  Here, I embrace my emotional self – the parts of me taking charge of keeping me away from what might hurt.  I remind myself of my  courage and strength; and that whatever has been and whatever will come “This too shall pass.”

Then, as often as I can, I remember to move through the day with the walking mediation of  “Presence.”  For accustom as I am to setting forth a destination and a thoughtful path, this reminds me that life lives me and to be present in the moment.  Here, I relax into letting-go, being with what is, and treasuring it.

∞ ∞ ∞

What does this look like?  As it turns out, when I told my guests, I had dropped the birthday cake on the floor, everyone laughed and the evening became lighter.

Three years ago when my home was for sale and there were no buyers, I discovered my deeper desire – it wasn’t so much a place as it was the feeling of “being home.”

Over time, I came to see the gifts of those I felt I had lost.  Each person, every situation brought me here, to this moment and the richness I am today.

∞ ∞ ∞

Yes, the teachers knew.  It’s just that along the way, I’ve come to understand more of what they meant.

Thanks for reading,

Kathleen