“May the Nourishment of the Earth….”
“Be Yours*”
Vacations for me don’t historically or necessarily guarantee comfort. The structure of my day-to-day-world can lull me into the illusion of control. Unstructured days, undefined time, freedom of movement—all of these wondrous options can sometimes trigger anxiety, carrying within them the weight of expectation and potential comparison.
I’m happy to report from Vacation Day Number Four, all is unfolding with ease and grace and I am actually here to enjoy it, rather than planning and plotting the next moments of possibility.
Why?
Why are things different now?
I don’t have an answer. I do know that turning seventy this last year has been a watershed in my world, a critical dividing point in choice and in perspective.
Perhaps I just don’t want to waste any more time.
Perhaps I just don’t want to miss any of the beauty being offered me.
Perhaps I just don’t want to sleep through any more of this glorious world.
For whatever series of reasons, whatever merge of flowering tree, footstep of bird on sand, touch of the sun dancing with the wind’s perfect cooling, glorious sunset followed by stunning sunrise—
For whatever series of reasons, I recognize the blessings in which I am living.
And I am grateful.
We know gratitude physiologically changes the chemistry of the brain.
We know focusing on what is actually happening vs. what we want to happen opens the floodgates of reality, allowing more to beam upon us more.
We know that relaxing into reality heightens the flow state.
We know this.
Sometimes we are able to practice it.
On this lovely vacation, I am practicing gratitude.
Here is my partial list of gratitudes for this, Vacation Day Number Four—
Today I am blessed by:
- Each and every flowering bud on each and every flowering tree on this island
- Every single bird peep after bird whistle after bird call
- The miraculous beauty of the gnarly trees, made stunning by their adversary, the ocean wind
- Sleeping late—till 6:20!
- Waking early—4:20
- Spacious and lazy days
- Guilt-free napping
- Abundant daytime netflix-ing
- Jaws I, II, and even the ridiculous, Jaws III
- Freedom of choice
- Freedom of choice
- Freedom
- Of
- Choice
To keep this simple, I offer us the wonderful John O’Donohue, poet, philosopher, and dearest man. Here is his blessing, for this lovely May moment:
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
May the clarity of light be yours,
May the fluency of the ocean be yours
May the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
Wind work these words
Of love around you,
An invisible cloak,
To mind your life.
And here is a tiny peek into the “fluency of the ocean” that has been given to me this week.
I am blessed to share it with you.
Dear Friends, and how are you now, on this glorious day in May? How do you navigate vacations? Good memories? Challenging vacations?
And most importantly, what blessings are you being given? Even and especially the hard ones, the lessons and gifts disguised as challenges and obstacles—what is life giving you for healing and possibility?
Please do let me know—all voices are welcomed, all experiences sacred. I am aruni@rnetworx.com.
Blessings! Aruni