Have you noticed that it’s crazy out there in the world these days? Thank goodness I don’t often dwell on the negative news that we’re fed. The last few days, I’ve had enough of my own inner mental chatter to fill all the tabloids and then some. While I don’t have a lot of control over what stories the media covers, I can choose what I read, and when I read it.
It’s the same with my mind. I get to choose when and what I dwell on. Thank goodness most of the time I can tune out the naysayers that live inside my head. Some days it is easier than others to pick myself up, dust myself off, and find something funny about the situation at hand. Other days it takes commitment. Add a little grace and humor, and the tide will eventually turn in joy’s favor. Breathe in, breathe out, find humor. Let go. Repeat over and over. Remember that eventually things change. Be grateful. Forgive. Look for the lesson. Laugh at myself. Note to file: This (fill in the blank) will eventually pass. Keep breathing. Relax, breathe more, have patience and trust.
Today was one of those days. My feet had no sooner hit the floor than I realized that my mood was in the basement! I didn’t want to work on myself, nor did I feel like forgiving anyone nor anything. It was clear that I needed a break from my inner media channel, so I had a cry (ah, the joy of a good conscious tearing to clean out the pipes), talked with a friend, and set out to do my morning meditation. Instead, I sat down and reached for my crochet needle. I had this really amazing Italian yarn that was just calling to me. It was long and fuzzy and so much more inviting than stilling my unruly mind. Yarn won hands down.
I love when the invisible is made visible. The little fuzzies absolutely refused to cooperate with my well laid plans to ease my way into meditation. It didn’t take long until I realized that my yarn was my meditation! That lovely yarn mirrored my state of mind. In a flash, I knew that I’d copped an attitude with myself around my perceived inability to install a new shopping cart on my (almost brand new soon to be released) website. I saw that the solution to my frustration was really simple! Do one little fuzzie at a time. Give up the lurking self-judgment and enjoy the process.
My yarn mirrored my own attitude, but mercifully I didn’t respond to my yarn the way I’d responded to my shopping cart experience. All I did was focus on each knot as it presented itself, follow the little fuzzies to the source, and untangle them. It was tedious work, but about 20 minutes later I realized that cooperating with my uncooperative yarn put me in a happy state of mind. I’d been fully engaged in the process. That set me free and set me loose to experience an amazing day of breakthroughs.
The day, which began in the basement, ended up in the penthouse. The view is a whole lot better from the top…
