Practicing Our Way Thru Life Lessons

We do not perfect, or master life lessons, but perhaps as we are presented with an opportunity to experience a lesson again and again we bring the wisdom from our last experience into the present.

Several weeks ago, I spread mulch as if it were a spring day in the garden. The tulips are already springing to life and we were concerned the supposed snow we were expecting would be too harsh for their tender leaves. I got into a rhythm carting the wheelbarrow to and from our mulch pile, then raking the chips over the young tulips. The temperature dropped quickly while I worked, making me believe my efforts were justified.

The next day I woke to the quiet stillness of a snowy morning. The kind of morning that is hushed and quiet seems to reverberate through nature. The birds were quiet, the leaves were still, and large snowflakes were drifting to the ground. It was beautiful and idyllic. And by afternoon it had melted under the warmth of the sunshine. The temperature had risen back to the low 60s and it was as if the snow had never been. Leaving as quickly as it came.

This is the in-between.

Several weeks ago was the Celtic holiday of Imbolc. This is a new word and celebration to me and yet, I am captivated by it. On February 1st, it is the celebration of the in-between. The mid point between winter and spring. Imbolc is a word full with potential.

I find myself relating to it thru this odd weather that seems to cycle from winter to spring within a days time. I’m relating to it thru the seasons of life — the in-between of where I am today. I’m seeing it thru the eyes of a business owner having just closed a business — the time between what was and what will be. And I’m seeing it from the perspective of the past and the future.

I tend to focus on the future, I think most of us have this tendency. To look forward to the “next thing”.

But, have you looked back lately?

I realize I have to be truly intentional to look back and reflect. This week I looked back on this past year. I took a gander at my Parking Lot of Ideas and saw that I’ve moved forward towards these ideas without even realizing it.

I was quite shocked honestly! This past year felt like I was progressing backwards in so many ways, being tugged back to the beginning stages of business and feeling like a beginner in this new season of mid-life. I was dazed into thinking I was slipping backwards in life, but when I looked closely I saw that in-fact, I did move forward.

And it occurred to me that this I’m really just practicing each and every day. Life is a practice. There’s no getting it right or wrong, there is simply the art of living.

A friend and I met for a cup of coffee last week which stretched into several cups of coffee and then realizing we had spent half a day pondering life together. She brought up a thought that we pondered together some 5 years ago now. That is, that a lesson is never fully learned.

We do not perfect, or master life lessons, but perhaps as we are presented with an opportunity to experience a lesson again and again we bring the wisdom from our last experience into the present. Perhaps because of this, we are quicker to acknowledge the lesson, we see it present itself sooner. And we may move thru it with more ease. Sinking into a deep understanding of the lesson.

Over and over again I am presented with the lesson to be committed, but not attached. To hold plans loosely. To hold space for the path to divert from the steps I had carefully planned. A daily practice of setting intentions, but letting the day unfold.

As the tug of war between winter and spring continues I am reminded of this. I am committed to my garden, but I am trying not to be attached to the timing of plants. This has been especially evident in our tulip garden, where the tender leaves have spring to life quickly, growing by the minute it seems.

Our intent is to have our mid-April wedding amongst the blooming tulips, but I have a detach from this idea on a daily basis as the tulips remind me they are simply responding to the sun and weather each day. Our wedding will be special and beautiful despite the timing of the tulips, so we remain committed to nurturing these lovely babies, knowing full well that we can’t attach to the timing of their blooms. We will only cause ourselves grief if we do attach to this notion.

Recurring lessons are treasures in life and I just keep practicing my way thru them.

I’m curious, what are you attached to right now? What lessons have presented themselves to you over and over thru the years?

I hope these thoughts inspire ponderings for you this week.

Your Friend,

Ashley