Blossoming into Flow

_{Be like a flower, survive the rain, and use it to grow.” ~Anonymous}

What a difference a year makes!

You see, last year during this time, I was in the middle of chemotherapy; physically and
mentally I was in a different place. I had lost all my hair; and due to the prescribed steroids, I had a moon face, and my nervous system was taxed. Prior to cancer, I would easily and without effort move from one task to another. The prescribed drugs disrupted that flow, I could no longer multi-task.

Contemplation:

As you look back at who you were last year, do you see much of a difference? What are the changes that happened in your life from last year to now? How were you physically, emotionally, and mentally? In the age of Covid, you’ve been called to make shifts in your routines, thoughts, actions. How are you doing with that?

The new year is a great opportunity to see where growth is necessary. Yes, I say necessary because there are times when it is critical for us to change to move forward. Stopping to consider how we have been doing, provides a set point. By doing a contemplation practice, you can decide where shifts would alleviate or make a situation even better. What in your life, if done differently, would provide better results?

Opportunities for Growth:

Our main purpose in life is growth, just as the purpose of trees and plants is growth.
They grow naturally. We grow at will. We must be willing to endeavor by finding ways to learn, experiment, and grow. When you remain open to learning and changing, you enhance the possibilities for your growth.

When we are faced with conditions like Covid, or cancer; there is a greater opportunity to uncover meaningful teachings from life.  Some of us resist, resent, and refuse to surrender to the circumstances. Surrendering does not mean you like the situation; it just means you accept that that the rules changed. It’s as if, you are playing football and the game changes to baseball to stay in the game, you play with new rules. When the game changes, you adjust.

Collecting the Gifts:   

One of the golden nuggets I received from cancer came from learning how to function
without multi-tasking. Initially, it was not easy; I became frustrated, and soon I learned that the frustration created more friction and fewer results. So, I adapted and learned to focus on doing one thing at a time, with focus, consistency, and patience. Acting in this manner taught me to become more deliberate, less scattered, and developed a heightened delight for the now.

Delighting in the moment, allows me to be more creative, more aligned with Spirit, staying tuned in to what is before me. If I am speaking with someone, working on a project, reading, or cooking, by staying focused on it, I now see the gift in the activity. It is when I feel the most in the flow with life. Since I am now well, I can once again multi-task and do so at times; yet it is my practice to start each day delighting in each moment and remaining focused (as best I can) throughout my day.