Friday, April 18, 2014

Detour or Destination

The birds are singing as I leave the apartment early each morning. By the time I drop off my son at school, the early sunrise sky has given way to the pale light of morn. For several moments, I bask in the newness, the purity of the early morning. Through conscious breathing, I prepare myself for the coming day. In those brief moments I wonder what the unfolding day will bring. What challenges and opportunities will it share? How will I respond or react to those opportunities?

As I drive away from the school, I wonder how I will navigate the twists and the turns and the detours of this day’s path. The coward me hopes that the road between sunrise and sunset is relatively straight, evenly paved, and without trying fellow travelers. The courageous me daringly pokes at the coward me. For courageous me knows that no matter what unfolds, through courage and humility I can choose to respond with love and compassion. This is my only real choice through the day.

I move through the day conscious of the turns, potholes, and detours. The journey through this day is all in the navigation. My awareness tunes into my resistance. I recognize when the first response is not a response but is a reaction made out of frustration and fear. When the bubbles of reactive fear rise to the surface, I gentle remind myself to breathe and reconnect to my internal GPS.  Through my inner knowing I understand the path to take. This journey is about trusting that my intuition will lead me.

Often the detours arrive suddenly and without warning. On autopilot do I follow those orange and black signs believing that they will lead me to the main road? Or, do I accept without a doubt that the detour is actually my main thoroughfare for the day? On the path of detour I am able to interact with many people, places, and situations not found on what I consider my main road. This new route gives me so many opportunities to make a difference in the world by willingly being of the world.

My journey is first and foremost about me. I have opportunities to radically change the world. While each interaction may positively impact the other, it also has the opportunity to wrap me in grace. What I share with the world comes back to me in a grace-filled tenfold.

The path of curves and detours and squiggles is mine. All my actions are mine. Any good that I do is mine. Although the journey is about me, I can still be a light of grace with those whom are in my community.


How are you living each grace-filled moment?

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