“How was the weather?” people ask when we return from our cottage. They assume we would wish for nothing but sunshine and warmth.
But wet weather is a wonderful part of vacation life too. Rainy days are perfect for cocooning with a good book, or for settling in for a nap.
There are few sounds more soothing than rain on a cottage roof . . .
A few weeks ago in her post Planned Spontaneity, Laurie Buchanan of Tuesdays with Laurie contemplated the different growing patterns of trees and pondered how that compared to how we lead our lives.
Like most people, she is a cross between two styles: 70% planned, 30% free spirit.
I am about 50/50, but when I was younger I led a much more planned existence. Spontaneity made me uneasy back then. In fact, friends used to make fun of my wary stick-to-routine life and pushed me to step outside my comfort zone.
And then I became a freelance writer. Talk about unpredictable.
I have developed more comfort with the “unexpected.”
Once I discovered that some of my most amazing life experiences occurred when I said, “Let’s go this way and see what happens,” spontaneity came more easily. When I allowed life to unfold naturally, it always seemed to lead me to an important and life-changing experience.
“Given the unpredictability of this crazy world, it’s good to be able to grow with the flow,” I wrote in Laurie’s comment section, and that feels true to me. Best not to cling to plans in this COVID time, am I right? It has forced even the most wary of us out of any routines we might have been sticking to.
I’m trying to grow with that flow. All of this feels important and life-changing.
“Hasten slowly and you will soon reach your destination.”
—Milarepa, as found in Finding Water: The Art of Perseverance by Julia Cameron
But, how can we hasten slowly? Isn’t that an oxymoron?
And yet, it seems we do. All the good stuff comes out of hastening slowly.
When rewards are slow coming, it is easy to get discouraged. Whether it is raising money for a good cause, learning a language, landing a recording contract, establishing the perfect garden, or mastering the “Moonlight Sonata” on piano, we must push on.
And if we stop typing, juggling, paying, pacing, gritting, planting, weeding, watering, playing, practising, reciting, conversing—if we stop hastening—then we never reach the goal.
Whatever your destination, hasten to it, and slowly you will arrive.
Q: Is this bird about to spread its wings and fly, or is it touching down after a journey?
Funny, how often an ending and a beginning are the same . . .
A: A snapped this photo as the bird—tired of trying to balance on the point of this light standard—spread its wings and began a new journey.
According to the ancient Polynesian wisdom of Ka Huna, we should bless that which we want.
The shamans of Hawaii use the power of words and mind to heal the self, others and situations. They believe:
Resentment and feelings of unworthiness are both negative emotions. When we bless, there’s no room for negativity. Blessing nuzzles it out of the way.
Blessing has no space for thoughts like:
When we bless others, their day gets a little brighter, and we feel better too. The positives grow in an ever-expanding ripple.
What do you want to bless today?
Another re-post during my mini-vacation. I spent last week participating in the Humber School for Writers Summer Workshop. The writers in my group agreed: Writing is a tough slog. But then, so is life in general! I might as well spend some of it writing and occasionally stumbling into moments of bliss.
At a gathering of our local branch of the Canadian Authors Association, we writers shared words to describe the writing experience.
Terror, right above Bliss.
Mystical right in the middle of everything.
Fun not far away.
Elusive, more than once.
Tranquility and Solace.
Hard work, Glass Wall, Escape.
Mindblowing, Universal, Wonder.
Our word cloud described the writing experience, and life in general.
Somerton Smith 
