Be as a Bouncing Ball

When something occurs that you did not anticipate and do not like, watch for your emotional reaction.  If that reaction is a sigh and an I-quit attitude, a here-we-go-again resignation, then we have work to do.  For the adventure of life I wish for you is not one of sighing and bemoaning your fate, of resigning yourself to having and being less than you want.

It is often said that you should learn to accept what you cannot change.  There is much truth to this, of course, but it can also lead you into the dangerous territory of apathy and resignation.  

You must accept that your lover has left you and is not coming back, for you cannot change this and to spend your life trying to do so would be a futile waste of energy and emotion.  But you do not need to accept that you will be lonely, that you will be alone.  You can choose to immerse yourself in the life of people, participating in new activities, meeting new people every day, engaging in life actively and joyfully.  And after a time you will find that this new period of deep engagement with life is actually a better time than you were having while worrying constantly about whether or not you were pleasing to a lover with one foot out the door.

You need to accept that the company that employed you for twenty years has been acquired, that the new company has someone who already does your job and that you are likely to lose yours.  You need to accept this.  But you do not need to accept that this is a bad thing.  You may choose instead to look upon this as an opportunity to find a better position, perhaps even a new career.  This unexpected and unwelcome event could be the turning point in your life, the event that propels you forward to take risks you would never have taken if you still had that job.  This could be the thing that turns your life from humdrum to exciting, as you finally go after that dream you have had for so long.

But what of the events such as death, where there is no positive benefit to be seen in your life, no way to turn it into a propelling force toward good?  Yes, you must accept this loss within your own life.  You will not see that lovely smile again, hear that laughter, feel that loving hug.  Accept this, yes, and allow yourself to feel what you feel.  But at the same time, allow it to carry you into a deeper understanding of life.  Allow yourself to know and feel the truth, that nothing is ever lost, that at the levels higher than this physical existence you are still together, side by side, and here that warm smile is a part of a golden glow of love, a love which is joined to your own in the oneness of all that is, a love which still showers you and surrounds you, even now. 

Allow this loss to take you into a deeper understanding of the cycles of life.  Let it teach you to be as the rose, going deeply down to your roots during the winter cycles of barrenness and cold, only to emerge again in the spring more fragrant and beautiful than ever, your understanding and connection even deeper than it was before.

Allow yourself to feel what you feel.  Allow yourself to have reactions and responses to life, as you naturally will if you are engaged deeply with it.  How much better to cry aloud than to sigh!

But then, let this energy turn you toward action, toward desired change, toward growth and toward deeper understanding and connection.  Let nothing stop you in your tracks.  Be as a bouncing ball, letting the same energy which forced you downward give you the power to bounce back up again, even higher than you were before.

Here is a little prayer for today

I am deeply engaged in my life.  Everything that happens to me is an opportunity for change and growth.  I open myself to new experiences and new people.

I welcome change into my life.  I welcome newness and vibrant new energies.  Everything that happens energizes me, like a ball which bounces higher and higher, reaching to the heavens.

I am power.  I am love.  I embrace all of life, just as it is.  I see the opportunities hidden within each change that occurs.

I am vibrant and alive.  I am power.  I am love.  I am.