I stumbled into the living room after a deep and heavy sleep. Sleep doesn’t come as easily as it used to, but last night I had a full night of uninterrupted slumber, it felt luxurious yet almost dizzying. Mike, who had already been up for hours greeted me full of life and smiles. With a joyous grin he looked up at me and said, “Lynne, something really wonderful happened this morning.” I’m thinking, Wow, what big news is he about to share? With bated breath I asked, “What, what is it?” In my shallow thoughts my mind was racing, Is this about money? Is someone getting married? Having a baby?…."What, what’s the big news?” He said, “The birds have returned and they were singing their hearts out high up in the trees, it's happening, spring is returning.” I love that within this simple moment he saw such hope and joy.
It’s been a two steps forward, one step back sort of jerky momentum lately. We have been so eager for new beginnings to start, both figuratively and literally, that it felt completely out of sequence to have awakened to 8” of snow this past week. SNOW!!! NOW??? Ugh! So often this is exactly how life flows. We begin a momentum forward with hopes riding high, expectations become bigger and bigger and suddenly you find a snow drift at your back door. Reality, a harsh realization that everything happens much slower then we desire or plan. But perhaps that is the best pace of all. Slow. Making sure that the cart does not go in front of the horse, so to speak. Embracing the moments that are standing in front of us instead of waiting for perfection that is often so elusive.
Back to my morning stumbles into the living room. I finally ended up with a warm cup of coffee in my hands as I sank into my comfortable chair. I have a thick soft wrap that I throw over my shoulders and it always feels like a big cozy embrace. I feel safe in these moments, the calm before the rush of the day that often sweeps me into a million different directions. These moments of stillness that allow me to feel grounded, like roots being planted in the earth, I feel plugged in.
I walked away from my morning meditations today with feelings of acceptance. Making peace with snowdrifts instead of blossoms and slow paces instead of running with wild abandon. But the birds are still singing, no matter what is going on in the world today.