As I stated in a few posts ago, I started my week of a lifetime with the Dalai Lama and finished with a 2 day silent retreat. The retreat center is Lake Huron Retreat Center and it is a beautiful facility. Saturday morning started out kind of cloudy but as the day opened up so did the sun. The buildings are up on a small hill which means that you have to walk down to get to the water. Quite a few of us were outside by this time, reading, reflecting, watching nature or recuperating from our mala bead making adventure (more on that later).
I was sitting on the grass on the top of the hill and a thought came to me as I looked down. When was the last time that I rolled down a hill? I hadn't a clue. Then I started to have a conversation with myself, after all I was at a silent retreat. What if I just rolled down the hill? No, no that wouldn't work, I shouldn't disturb the others around me. However I am not getting any younger and when will this opportunity present itself again? It was a really was a nice looking hill and if I started rolling to the left I shouldn't hit the stack of wood at the bottom. No, no that's crazy talk, what if you break something. Oh my goodness, the others will think that I am crazy. Then again those who know me already know that I am crazy. Oh my, I really want do but I really shouldn't. Then a very loud voice inside of me shouted "just do it!" And I did, I tucked my arms in and just rolled. It was so much fun! Once I stopped rolling I could hear the laughter of the group above me. I went to stand up and decided that was a bad idea, I had forgotten how dizzy one gets when one rolls down a hill. Once I regained my balance, I got up as gracefully as I could, brushed the grass off my clothes and picked the leaves out of my hair and walked away as if it was something I did everyday.
Moral of the story? When was the last time you "rolled down the hill". Maybe not literally but metaphorically? What is holding you back from enjoying life, from being silly, from laughing, from saying to yourself "just do it". Life is not a dress rehearsal people, not sure who to attribute that quote to but it's true.
I told this story to some of my students and Jean send me a link as to why kids (and big kids) like to spin so I thought I would share it with you also since there seems to be health benefits.
Come on, get up take a deep breath and just roll with it!
I just read a quote yesterday that fits well with your post:
ReplyDelete"We're trying to dress rehearse tragedy so we can beat vulnerability to the punch."- Brené Brown to Oprah Winfrey. Brené says we avoid the vulnerability of sheer joy because we're terrified of loss, and in doing so, we're incapable of leaning into joy and really enjoying our lives. The solution, she says, is to transform the idea that the other shoe is going to drop into a practice of gratitude. Whenever you notice that you're scared to feel bliss, push through into a full expression of how grateful you are for the blessings in your life instead of shying away from joy because you fear loss. Sounds like medicine for the body, mind, and soul to me."
Thanks for modeling "let go and let grow" for us.