Keeping Our Center ~ Day 87

I looked at my dog yesterday morning and said, “Is this what it’s like being a dog? Same thing every day?” She didn’t answer. But she did look at me knowingly with her sweet brown eyes. She gets it. But yet she seems ok with it. Sure, she gets excited when we’re going for a walk, but she spends most of her day patiently relaxing, napping, and watching the animals and birds out the window. We have much to learn from our pets.

I know, I know, it just isn’t that easy. They don’t have to pay the bills, and make dinner, and mow the lawn, and do laundry, and take care of the kids, or grandkids, or parents. Even so, we could learn a lesson or two about waiting patiently, and waiting in a way that fills us up spiritually.

I know many of us are working, and some of us have tried to resume some “normal” activities, but we’re still playing the waiting game with this virus. And it is unlikely that life as we knew it is going to resume any time soon. The truth is that most of us aren’t very good at waiting, and our culture has conditioned us to believe that waiting is bad, and doing nothing is lazy.

All of this reminds me of the Taoist concept of wu wei, the “action of non-action.” Wu wei refers to the cultivation of a state of being in which our actions are quite effortlessly in alignment with the ebb and flow of the elemental cycles of the natural world. It is a type of “going with the flow” that is characterized by great ease and awake-ness, in which - without even trying - we’re able to respond perfectly to whatever situations arise.

This requires trust in the Essence of All That Is. Trust that we are loved and understood deeply. Trust that we don’t need to force our agenda for life to turn out well. Trust that if we take a deep breath, allow things to simply be for a bit, we will be able to see the Spirit at work around us. Then as we notice this, we will feel stronger and less tired. We will find that we are now moving with the Spirit, instead of trying to make the Spirit move with us.

Love & Light,

Kaye