So, I've had some stuff going on.
I could regale you, constant reader, with a catalog of woe. But it doesn't matter. Some of the stuff is intensely private, and not about me, either. So, I'm going to mostly keep that part to myself.
Yesterday, I had a really hard conversation that I've needed to have with someone close to me, for a while. I've been dealing with some family illness issues too. And, I'm about to have a veritable tornado of dental misadventures. Heavy, right?
But this morning, I feel good. Amazing, in fact.
Why? Because of part of my mindful practice. There's this thing I do, that I learned in part from Pema Chodron, in part from Alan Watts, and in part just from my own experience: I bend.
The kind of bending I'm talking about is similar to how palm trees on tropical islands bend, during a storm.
A hurricane comes through, and it will not be stopped.
So, instead of standing tall and proud, proof against the storm, these wily things get pushed down. Then, when the storm's done, they pop right back up.
I know trees don't have a nervous system, or sentience, but I tend to personify everything, so let's just pretend they do here. I can kind of see it going like this:
Tree named Ed: "Hey Phil, looks like there's a hurricane coming. Man, these things make me so tense."
Tree named Phil: "Now Ed, we'll be all right. You just gotta relax, man. Don't have a coconut over it. It'll blow over."
The storm comes through. It's pretty terrible. Ed and Phil are blown on so hard, they are basically bent in half, just about touching the ground.
Ed: "Oh man, this hurts like hell!"
Phil: "Yeah, this sucks. Hang in there. It'll be over soon! If I had teeth, I'd be gritting them right now."
Ed: "Yeah, me too."
Then the storm gets less. The trees spring back up.
Ed: "Whew, that was a bad one."
Phil: "Sure was. Man, this sunshine sure is nice."
Ed: "Sure is."
And that's it. Me, I'm just like Ed and Phil, except I actually do have teeth, and don't have any coconuts hanging off me, or leafy fronds that I know of. Stuff happens, bad personal storms, and they hurt, and they're scary, and I dislike them. And then it's sunny again, and it feels good.
Bending. It's pretty great.