Take a second to turn away from the noise of the world and locate yourself in the moment,
In the body,
In the breath.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Welcome to a hit of hope.
Do you ever feel like you are at the cusp of change?
Might be something small,
Something good.
A promotion,
A new love,
A new museum or forest to wander through.
Change can also bring frustration.
Construction as you drive to work.
Or important things like furnaces or relationships.
Quit working.
Inhale.
Exhale.
There can also be times when change makes everything feel tenuous,
Fluid,
As if you are on this fast-moving river and you aren't sure what's around that bend up there.
How are you supposed to plan and make decisions and know what to do when you're on a teeny tiny raft of saplings and the swirling water is carrying you who knows where?
Inhale.
Exhale.
Obviously,
The opposite of uncertain is certain.
And I have a feeling if we were given a multiple choice test that read,
Do you want your life to be A,
Certain or B,
Uncertain,
Most of us would pick certain.
But is that really what we want?
Inhale.
Exhale.
Certain means determined,
Fixed,
Settled.
And oh my,
Doesn't the body just relax when you hear the word settled?
It sure does,
But will certainty really bring us peace?
Think about a toddler who wails because they want the stuffed animal.
We can be just like that,
Believing that if we only had certainty,
Then all would be well and we could quit throwing a tantrum.
But like that same toddler,
How quickly do we grow bored with what we have?
Inhale.
Exhale.
We might think we want certainty.
We might long for it,
Believing it will bring us peace and ease.
And it might,
But that's the thing about us tricksy humans.
When we get what we want,
Before long,
We're no longer satisfied.
We need the next new thing,
Even as we dread it.
Inhale.
Exhale.
This means,
I think,
That it's less about uncertainty and more about how we move through our days and lives.
When we feel the uncertainties of life,
When we are in that tenuous flow,
The practice is to let that be okay.
And notice I said practice,
Something we have to do regularly to acquire a skill or improve upon it.
Rather than focusing on being settled and certain,
What if we practice riding the flow?
This does not mean you are helpless.
What do you want to aim for?
What do you need to do to move in that direction?
And how can you flow that way,
Rather than fight your way there?
If you can't answer what you want to aim for,
Can you at least answer,
How do you want to be as you ride this moment?
Because that is completely within our control.
Let yourself in the flow,
The flow of your breath.
Inhale,
Pulling in fresh,
Clean air.
Exhale,
Feeling the release of your entire body.
You are here in this now.
You are here breathing.
You are here riding the flow.
You are here.
Live full of wonder and light.
