From my meditation this morning:
"If an individual has a calm state of mind, that person's attitudes and views will be calm and tranquil even in the presence of great agitation." ~HH the Dalai Lama
My counselor has been helping me work my way through things from my childhood. Most recently we worked with something that happened when I was about 7. It was the first (and by far the worst) incident of abuse experienced at the hands of my Mom. Since Thursday evening I have been extremely unsettled; having flashbacks and nightmares. Feeling a lot like a child trying to make its way through one of those Halloween haunted houses - never knowing what was going to pop up around the next corner or in the next room and the exit nowhere in sight.
During my meditation I was once again reminded of the owls who remained calm and steadfast as they waited for the strong winds to pass. Also of the bison in Yellowstone that stand patiently, belly deep in the snow as a blizzard rages around them.
Then I saw a stream of water winding its way along in that typical "S" flow pattern. Floating atop the water was a small feather. When it encountered obstacles the water stopped and pooled. The water only remained there long enough to accumulate the exact amount of energy it needed to surpass each obstacle, resume its course and carry the feather along.
How I wish I could say I was suddenly filled with some sort of instant peace/immediate resolution and now all is well with my world but that is simply not the case.
Rather there is a lesson to be learned. The water represents my life, the feather is me and the obstacles are my past, present and future. The obstacles will always be there and must be faced but are only temporary delays on my journey. For the moment my life is in one of the "pooling" phases and soon will move along.
The feather remained afloat and so shall I.
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