Raising my four children, I sang many times the Unity song, There is an Answer to the Problem! I still do and I believe it is always true!
As I sat at a traffic interruption recently, I noticed that my attention was swaying back and forth from the clock to the gear shift. I wasn’t directly involved in the incident ahead of me, however, I was being affected by the situation and was thinking, “I’ll be late; do I stay in park, or is there another way around this?” It was clear that finding a way around this was not now a possibility. I would need to call ahead to my appointment and be patient. Now, do I decide to feel frustrated, or maybe I could actually enjoy being in parkby listening to a Rob Bell Podcast! Perhaps I could even love being stopped. (Do you remember that amazing work of Byron Katie? Loving What Is)
During these past six weeks, I’ve been stopped in another way. These have not been experiences I want to repeat, even in memory, so I will be brief. As I was shoveling thistles from my flower beds, I was feeling good about not using something like “Round-Up”, and I was happy to have a cleaned-up yard! It was a good feeling on a beautiful, cool, sunny day. I was, however, unaware that there was deterioration to my knee, and I had no idea to what extent. Nor did I have any concept that my joyful gardening experience of pushing that shovel into the ground with my foot was somehow doing serious damage to my body. I was stopped from proceeding as planned. Darn! Over these past 6 weeks, both the pain and the inconvenience of being stopped for far longer than I would have ever imagined has not been a pleasant experience.
If you are anything like me, being stopped either in traffic or for an injury can be very frustrating and can feel like a great inconvenience. (Yes, things can always be worse.) I thought again, “There must be a way around this”. But guess what! There was no way. I would need to be patient, have examinations and evaluations by two orthopedic specialists and a chiropractor, make decisions and remain parked for a period of time. Ugh!
Have you ever noticed that pain can turn your brain off? Well, so it has been! No writing, no client appointments, no blogs, no walking more than a few steps at a time, no shopping, only one class, some great visitors, and now the doctor has confirmed the unwelcome words… ”No Nature's Sunshine Convention”… too much walking, too much driving! I have been excited about Convention for a long time! Loving What Is? Really?
Again, choices needed to be made and most were not difficult: prayer, reiki, acupuncture, red light therapy, ice, heat, HeartMathTM Techniques, cortisone covered by insurance or stem cell with ozone at my own personal expense, brace or tape, Nature’s Sunshine supplements and herbs or medication or both.
Well, the rebel in me has always chosen the “alternatives” of life, even when they aren’t scientifically proven or popular. I chose all the “alternatives”, as you might expect, and refused traditional protocol. (Cautions: My choices are right for me, but may not be for anyone else.) I also chose and am choosing each day to practice the Byron Katie lesson of Loving What Is, as well as asking for and accepting help from my kids and friends. I’m very grateful for so much love and support!
Although there have been many lessons for me while parked, I recognize there are more. Is this what Sabbath really is?
When stopped this is what makes sense to me:
Take the time to make choices that feel sincerely best and wise. The heart knows.
Recognize that stopping may be freely chosen as in a retreat, vacation, time-out, or forced upon us; one is just more painful than the other. Spiritually, it’s all Good.
Accept that getting stopped is a part of the yin and yang of life, and there is no escape.
Decide what thoughts I will allow during the stopped times.
Choose through “Heart Breathing” how that time will be used.
Feel grateful that everything is for spiritual growth and the universe has got my back (and yours).
I trust that I will dance again, but then, if not, there will be something even more pleasurable!
Thank You, My Readers!
Have you stopped or been stopped? Have you been in park over a situation?
Continuing the Process and Moving Forward,
Barbara