Back and Forth, Forth and Back.
I know, you thought it was over. You thought last time was the last time. You thought that season and area of your life had finally changed, for good. You were so eager and excited to move on, only to be forced back, again.
Transition & Change.
As I laid in shavasana this morning, I thought about the weather. I thought about how we had at least two amazing weeks of warmer, spring-like weather. I thought about how, officially, it is indeed Spring. But, somehow—it is cold (and not just any kind of cold, but cold cold). I thought about how, annoyingly, I had to pull back out my gloves, hat, and puffy jacket. What happened?
As my questioning subsided, my body also softened. And that’s when I heard it: transition. In a matter of seconds, the nature of change was revealed to me. Suddenly, I found a profound level of grace, compassion, and understanding for seasonal shifts—both in nature and in our personal lives.
Whether its a change of weather, exiting a relationship, beginning a new diet or workout regimen, strengthening or healing an energetic boundary—even though we make a decision to go forward, or the calendar tells us the season has changed…often, we slip backwards again. We end up doing what we said or thought we wouldn’t do, or what we thought was a thing of the past. We find ourselves in that old pattern, again. And then, if we are present enough—we get our bearings, we bump into the clarity and perspective we need, we reconnect with our intentions…and there were are again, forward.
“Nature does not hurry,
yet everything is accomplished.” -Lao Tzu
I’m not here to give you a justification for why we revert back, or why Mother Nature, sometimes, can’t seem to make up its mind—I’m here to ask you to pay attention to your reaction, to your response. I’m here to remind you that its really not about the “weather” or what you did (or who) that you said you wouldn’t—but its your response to the situation. The issue (and thus, your power) remains in what you see and why you see it that way.
Why not let nature inspire us? Nature, I believe, provides us with an opportunity to understand the rhythm of change—and, that is, that it doesn’t just happen over night (although we want it to). It happens over time, slowly but surely. There are steps forward, with steps back again. Forward two, back three. Forward one, back one. And, eventually, forward we will go.
And so…
Are you there…back, instead of forth?
Are you there…confused, instead of clear?
Are you there…off, instead of on?
Are you there…feeling the cold of winter, instead of the warmth of spring?
No matter where you are, bring your awareness to your thoughts. Scan a light on how you are responding to you…to the world around you (to the matters outside of your control). Instead of judging and criticizing this moment, see if you can invite perspective and compassion into your situation. See if you can soften by surrendering your judgement and resistance to what is. Breathe over your circumstances and see what is good about where you are now.