I have to confess that it’s been work to keep a positive perspective on life of late. I keep getting news about the troubles visiting people in my circle of friends. My house and car both need repairs. And in the larger world, well, you have only to turn on the news to see that things appear to be coming apart at the seams.
What’s helped me the most is accepting that this is life. And gosh! Good or bad, I get to live it! I get to experience the whole range of human emotions – shock, anger, anxiety, fear and grief, and on the other side, gratitude, serenity, hope, love, and joy.
And by accepting, I mean allowing myself to experience whatever emotion is flowing through me at any given time. Not to want to hold onto it. Not to fight it. Not to push it away. Not to judge myself for it. But simply to let it be and to feel it.
It helps, too, to look at the story I’m telling myself about whatever circumstance I find myself in, and to ask myself, Byron Katie style, whether my story is true and whether I can be certain, and how I would be without that story.
When I do that, I often find an old Zen tale coming to mind that reminds me that none of us has any idea how things will turn out, or what fortunes await us. It goes like this . . .
Once upon the time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his plow horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.
“Maybe so; maybe not,” the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three wild horses. “How wonderful!” the neighbors exclaimed.
““Maybe so; maybe not,” replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.
“Maybe so; maybe not,” answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.
“Maybe so; maybe not,” said the farmer.
* * *
That story has served me well over the many years since I first heard it. I hope it will stick with you and serve you, too, when you’re tempted to label your fortune as ‘good’ or ‘bad.’
Meanwhile, autumn’s emerging colors have captivated me this week and reminded me that for everything there is a season, and that the seasons turn. And we get to experience them.
And that, my friends, is miracle enough, and then some.
Wishing you a week of perspective, colored by glimpses of beauty.
Warmly,
Susan