Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts

Friday, August 27, 2010

When the Unexpected Happens

How many times do we set our sights on a specific outcome only to find our later that there is not only little likelihood that the result will be exactly as we had hoped, but that the outcome that does occur might in fact be a better one than we had envisioned? It is human nature to want to know and this includes knowing what, when, and how something will happen followed by the inevitable why did it happen or why might it happen this way or that?  All in the future and ripe for confusion and fear at worst and avoidance of the moment at best. Our minds seem to wander easily to an unending labyrinth of possibilities many of which may be based on fears, some on hopes, but all on thinking of what may occur which lands us in future trippin' or caught up in the past.

Take for example a young woman who wanted to enroll in the college of her choice. She was bound and determined to study at UC Berkeley and was profoundly disappointed when she was not accepted due to over enrollment. One scenario here is that she then regrouped, applied to another college where she had several major agreements waiting and saw in retrospect that this college was a better fit for her. Another would be that when she was denied entry into her first choice college, she decided that she was going to become a lobbyist for education reform and based on her experience chose a different life plan.

We are only limited by our inability to be in the moment and to accept life as it is. The next time you find yourself in a situation where the unexpected happens, take a breath and remind yourself that all is well.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Times of Peace and of Transformation


Today I have been musing on the idea that there are times in our lives which are peaceful by all accounts and those which might be considered challenging. Looking back on my own life from my mid-50's, I can see that life has been wavelike with movement and never static, always changing, always bringing new opportunities for growth whether or not it seemed like that at the time.

Some of my friends and clients tell me that they wish for more peace and hope that the next challenge will be far off in the future so that they can get on with their lives. Yet others say they welcome whatever life brings to them, seeing all experiences as opportunities for personal growth and essence evolution. These folks do not resist life and instead accept what comes their way and for the most part seem far more content than those who avoid challenges. Both responses are valid, of course and up to the individual to choose what is right for them.

I do however find it curious that life is much like the waves of the ocean; movement never ceasing, sun always rising and setting, storms coming and going, each of us in our human bodies, riding the waves in our little boats. That is until we realize that we are part of the great ocean and jump in.