It's Been a Minute

...it's been a minute since I was last here.  So much has changed in my life.  The death of my parents, the death of a beloved mentor and friend, pets have died, new pets have arrived, and many moves to different homes and of course, I've grown older in the process--hopefully, wiser as well.  There are now more gray hair, more fine lines, some creakier body parts, and I'm definitely slower at getting myself up off the floor.  Retirement, the closing of a business, and all that goes along with bumping along the road of life have continued to alter our landscape.  

All of this change brings with it an inevitable sense of lingering loss.  A dark night of the soul has lurked in the wings, and yet...the whole point of are spiritual journey is about embodiment, is it not?  Learning to be in physical form as a spiritual being?  And, embodiment as one ages, is particularly unique.  The notion of Being versus Doing is put right to the test when so much of what you were "doing", is simply not there anymore.  I find myself learning to be present in new ways all the time.  Sometimes, I succeed, and at other times, I feel like I am failing at something, although I'm not sure what.  How can you fail at just becoming who you are?  How did we ever arrive at the point where we feel like we are being graded on our very existence?  Where did this nonsense come from? 

So, I'm learning, as I expect everyone around me is, to be grateful for each day.  To not be the critic and grader of my own life.  Not to seize "my own wild and precious life" as some may say, lest I feel that another daunting assignment is about to be graded, but to simply be OK with the moment.  To breathe through the difficult times, to laugh at the hilarious, and to be bored with the mundane if that is what the moment requires.

How is it for you?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.  I've discovered I do much better in life when in conversation with others.