walking the sacred spiral
walking the sacred spiral
Jimmy Dean said, “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”
I find that I’m an odd mix of welcoming and resistance when it comes to change. If the change is my idea, and I have some control over it, I welcome it. When it comes upon me unbidden and I have little or no control over it I’m more likely to seize up and dig in my heels. How does change affect you?
It’s happening all the time. We can’t hold a single moment in place. I was looking at my hands today and remembering looking at them when I was in high school. They aren’t the same hands. But inside, I’m the same person.
I think of myself as about 34 years old until I see my reflection somewhere. Who is that? What a surprise! When did that happen?
There is a mysterious moment when we cross a boundary. We no longer appear as ourselves, but in disguise. When others look at us they assume certain things based on the appearance they perceive.
I find I do this even when meeting someone my own age for the first time. I can’t imagine who they really are, because my frame of reference is limited to the person I see before me today. And I, too, make assumptions based on what I think someone’s age is. Do you do this too?
Advertising is directed toward age groups with assumptions of what a particular age means. We get hypnotized into accepting those assumptions almost without our awareness. We make every twinge significant when we’re doing this.
What would you have thought about experiencing such a twinge at age 20? Probably not much. You would have assumed it would resolve itself. Why not now?
Yes, our bodies are all continuing to change. Resisting it makes us preoccupied and miserable. We don’t have to be limited by our age, but we do need to allow the vehicles we inhabit to do what they naturally do, like everything else in form. Bodies aren’t meant to be permanent dwellings. Would you want to use the same car for your entire life? Yet some of us think this body should be sufficient to serve for the entire existence of a soul. When this “vehicle” is used up, I intend to move on with gratitude, looking forward to a new one of some kind!
In the meantime, I want to care for it, enjoy it and appreciate it. I want to honor its changes gracefully, without anger, embarrassment, frustration or fear.
It’s a beautiful, sunny day today. I think I’ll go out for a walk.
Are You Living in Disguise?
Wednesday, July 30, 2014