Blessings to Problems?
Problems to Blessings!
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Life happens.
Reality is relentless.
It wins.
We cannot
Absolutely cannot
Control it.
IThappens.
However,
We can
Amend,
Tweak,
Become aware of,
Our response
To what’s happening.
We can
Relax into
What’s happening,
Which
Softens
The
Moment.
For me, this practice started with:
Shit to compost.
I remember so vividly,
This refrain
From the woman
In one of my first 12 Step groups.
Shit to compost.
She would repeat it weekly
at our Monday night meetings,
gathering above the Youth Center.
Rickety folding chairs.
Plaid frayed couch.
Shit to compost.
My response always began with
An internal giggle,
Almost understanding,
Almost practically
but not quite able
to wrap my mind around it—
Just— not quite.
Shit to compost.
Time passes.
Time passed.
Life continued to give me—
(WAIT! PRESENT TENSE IS NEEDED HERE)
Life continues to give me
So many opportunities
To practice this.
At some point I heard this good one—
Probably at a 12 Step meeting—
Surrendering is
Getting on
The winning side.
HUM.
I wondered.
Really?
More time passes.
Time passed.
At some point in my unfolding
I came across this profound haiku:
“Barn’s burnt down –
now I can see the moon.”
Written by Mizuta Masahide,
a 17th-century Japanese poet and samurai,
he totally captures
The journey
We are on.
Somewhere in it,
Somewhere in
The moment
Lies
The
Blessing.
~~~
I find myself
Surrounded
By blessings.
Niki the Dog
Asleep
Upside
Down,
Opened to the
World.
The cool
Dark
Night,
Silent.
Two geese
Left
On the pond,
Their families
Already
In
Flight,
Leaving
Deep
stillness
Behind.
My issue?
I seem
Eager
to make the blessings
Into problems.
To—overthink.
To—search for potential snags.
To—prepare for the problem
Before
It
Emerges.
Before
It
Even
Is
A
Problem!
To get ready
For that which
Isn’t
Even
Real,
That’s how
I
Was
Emotionally
Trained.
My practice today?
To
Remember.
To
Bless
Even
My
Forgetting.
To
Keep
Returning
To
The
Practice.
Looking for the
Blessing.
~~~
One more
Foothold,
Tether
Of inspiration
This week,
From
A
12 Step
Book:
“Optimism is the natural result of my finding myself
gradually able to make the better,
rather than the worst,
of each situation.”
Daily Reflections
Page 315
I love the word “gradual”.
No shit, Sherlock.
Gradual, it is.
And I appreciate how this quote
Implies
A practice,
An action,
A mindful
Commitment.
I love that concept.
Well, maybe not always.
But I do believe that—
Always.
~~~
This week I was inspired by two Jewish dudes, mensches, indeed, who wrote themselves (and us) some kick-ass songs. Here’s one I totally forgot about. S&G., thank you, from 1967, Live from Central Park:
Why have you forsaken me?
They ask.
The reframe, here and now
For me, for us—
Forsaken means
To abandon
Without return.
Human nature,
We do abandon—
OF COURSE WE DO.
That’s the human dilemma—
We abandon ourselves.
But, we return.
That’s the practice!
It is all,
All of it,
All
Of
it
Is
blessed.
~~~
Post-traumatic stress
Transformed
Into
Post-traumatic
Growth.
~~~
Friends, please remember,
I don’t offer any of this
So we can transcend
The feelings.
I offer it
To give
Us
The
Willingness
And the
Courage
To keep breathing,
To keep
Moving,
To
Keep
Growing,
Forward.
~~~
I am always inspired by Roshi Joan Halifax, from Upaya Zen Center. In the turmoil of our today, she offers such grounding. Here she is, from 10/31/21, A Strange and Wonderful Vision of Hope:
~~~
Dear Friends,
Here’s an invitation.
Now—right now—
Name the blessings
You see
Around you
Now/right now.
Here/right here.
Breathe into them.
Write them down
On a piece of paper.
Keep that paper
Deep in a pocket
Tucked on your altar
Under the candle.
Remember.
Blessings
Exist
In all.
To you,
Dear friends,
You are
My
Blessings.
Aruni
~~~
P.S.
MANDATORY PRACTICE BELOW
I double-dutch dare you. Play this song NOW and dance around, jump around, hop around, with or without an animal. I DOUBLE-DUTCH DARE YOU to use this song as a transition, a trampoline, to reframe.
From problems…..to blessings.