A friend recently talked about expecting miracles. As I listened, I realized that I've gotten out of the habit of even hoping for miracles. Instead, I spend a lot of energy problem-solving problems that don't yet exist to make sure I'll be OK if things get messy. As much as I'd like to be brave enough to expect miracles, I don't think I'm ready (yet). But I do think I could take a deep breath and ask myself, "What if everything works out?"
Some years it is easy to count my Thanksgiving blessings. Some years it isn't. No matter the struggle, I have found that there are moments that I wouldn't change. Noticing these is the key to a thankful heart.
A cocktail party "flop" was a good reminder that there is always (always!) more going on than the hard stuff you’re navigating. It can take some practice to regularly look for the light and then to remember to share it when someone innocently asks you, "What's new?"
For a while now I’ve been noodling over a little piece of advice that I found on Instagram: "Do it from love, not for love." The idea feels huge. Like freedom and generosity and happiness and wisdom all rolled up into one well-crafted little sentence. What does it look like? Where does the love that inspires these gestures come from? Read on ...
Finish lines are funny. Some, as my brother did in every race he ran, we dash towards with a mind only to get there. Some make us dawdle, pretending they are not looming. I handled all three of my kids' senior years of high school like this. What if we could treat endings as just another step? When we do, we find freedom and an openness to what is next that allows us to savor each step along our way. We find that we are starting to trust that, while not always obvious, all endings - all of them - lead to new beginnings.
When it turned out that skiing for the first time in ten years was not exactly like riding a bike for me I had a little meltdown. And then, thanks to my mindfulness practices, a part of me that was deeper and wiser than my dejected skier-self realized that I had to the power to choose how I would experience the remainder of our vacation. I am so grateful that I was able to let go and thereby free myself to enjoy the gifts we’d given ourselves by taking a family vacation - the rare opportunity to spend time together with all of my grown children and the even rarer chance to play with one another. I am thankful for the reminder that mindfulness really is a superpower.
On the first night of our family vacation, I had a moment of perfect contentment. It was late. We were hungry. The restaurant was too loud, too warm, too crowded, too slow. AND I was perfectly happy. Happiness and contentment are not around the corner in some imaginary future. They are right smack in the middle of each messy, hangry, less-than-perfect, hilarious moment along the way. All we have to do is notice.
Life is made up of as many bumps in the road and flies at the picnic as it is sweet, easy, sunny days. While it doesn't make the hard times any more fun, it is possible – with tears, sarcasm, humor, profanity, or whatever else you need - to shift your focus from the current mess to the preciousness and wildness of this one life of yours.
I believe that little worldly happenings are one way that God reaches out to let us know that we are not alone, we do not have to shoulder it all, and we are always being cared for. I recently found a little angel made of construction paper, Elmer's glue and glitter in my attic that I made when I was a little girl. Her reappearance in my life has me thinking about all the angels and tiny miracles that have shown up in my life exactly when I needed them. Keep an eye out as you zip around your own life. Miracles are all around us - especially when we are looking for them!