Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems. ~Rainer Maria Rilke

Friday, August 14, 2009

Stresses and Life's Little Irritations


Sometimes you're just walking around having a pretty good day when all of a sudden some little thing comes along and the irritation starts: A phone call that you don't want to answer; an unexpected guest arrives, or the check book doesn't balance. You know what I mean. It's just there and no matter how small it is, it's just one more thing ..., and your arthritis is flaring up..., and you don't want to deal with it.

Then, the "little thing" gets a little bigger and it bites your tail. Someone says something that hurts you or the bank calls because you are overdrawn. Now, you are really annoyed and you start growling.....

That's when you go for a long walk ...,and you realize that no one has a leash on you because your older and trusted ( and, maybe, the arthritis keeps you from running away), so you really have much more freedom than you thought you had and the "little irritation" is still there but someone has it on a leash, for a while, because it is too immature to just run free. Now, for a while, you can walk and think and be in the moment..., smelling all the joys and curiosities of life. In this wonderful moment you are a being of freedom and choice. The past is over. The future is..., well.., out there and it's a mystery. Life is life. It's happening now. Feel the ground under your paws and when you get back to the protected garden you can rest. Take a walk. Smell the earth. If it stinks, smell it anyway. If it bites you, bite back..., (without your teeth if possible), push it away..., and if there is pain, embrace it and understand it. Then dig a hole and bury it or..., accept it with all your heart. Start again and keep trying....

Life is life. Do what you can.
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