The past few days have invited me to go sit at the pool that I walk by every time I enter and exit my home. Each day, I pushed it off - generally telling myself that I was waiting for everyone to leave.
Yesterday morning was different. I said yes to that yearning desire. I grabbed a journal and a book (Radical Dharma) because I needed something to do.
The only request was to go to the pool. It’s always interesting to witness myself adding things to do when the only assignment is to do the thing.
I arrived to the pool and opened the gate for the first time (I’ve lived here for over two years). I put my “productivity kit” on the beach chair and heard the invite to put my feet in the water.
Ok. Yes.
And there I sat. I looked up and around and noticed one of the most beautiful sights that I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in a long time. I was surrounded by beautiful architecture, my feet were swaying in the pool, the trees were blooming inside and outside of the gate, the wind was blowing, the sun was kissing the nape of my neck.
I sensed peace in my body. I was present.
In that moment, I realized the reason that I decided to create spaciousness in my calendar at the beginning of every week. To be here. Fully here. Wherever here is.
I thought of the passing desire as of late to be in the light more often. And there I was, in the light of the sun. I would tell myself, “it’s time to move to a new home, I need more light”. How interesting is it that I just needed to move into the light - that the fulfillment of my desires was readily available to me. My body kept inviting me into the thing that I was asking for. My assignment was to listen and say yes.
As I sat there, fully in the moment, I began to embody gratitude. This is the gratitude practice that makes sense to me. In the past, I would hear “be grateful”, and I would experience it as a separation from the present moment. For years, I’ve heard about the benefits of gratitude journaling, yet it never resonated as a consistent practice because it felt like a force. In this particular moment with my feet in the pool, I was grateful. I didn’t have to conjure it up. It was an affirmation of the present moment rather than a thing to do.
This is gratitude. This is the practice.
I saw my life. I felt myself in a life that was once a vision. I laughed about the times that I gripped the life out of this vision when my resources didn’t match my outline. My heart smiled as I thought of who I became during the journey so that I could sustain and expand the vision as it materialized.
I noticed that my focus when I gripped was getting to the destination. When I released the grip, I understood that the timing was about developing a level of nourishment that would sustain me while experiencing this pit stop on the journey of life.
I will always arrive at my destination.
Crystal, put the address in the GPS and ride it out.
The question is never if I will get there. The experience is about how I will choose to arrive. How will I choose to land? How I land is how I will continue.
A little over two years after I landed, I chose to actually see. And now that I have chosen to sit in the light and see, I can imagine and vision again from a place of presence. I am grabbing for nothing while allowing myself to experience everything. I get to invite curiosity as I play and watch the path unfold.
What a gift!
This is how I practice gratitude.
Sometimes it is good to just sit and relax and let God talk to you. Also you sound like once you put your feet in the water you became relaxed. So sit back and enjoy the Beautiful things around you. You have so many to offer. You will Land where you need to be and want to be. Much Love, Aunt Casey
You are so correct sweetheart, we are where we suppose to be .........when we are suppose to be. Our destination will always be a place of adventure, only when we give it a new look. The tapestry of God's world is amazing, when stop and observe and interact with it. Thank you for this encouraging word for today. Love Dad.