Be Like a Leaf in a Stream
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about life in the past sixty years it’s that the ground is always shifting beneath my feet. Even when I think nothing is changing, it is. It may be only a slight shift in perspective that comes on the heals of a an article I read or a friend’s comment. Or it may be as life altering as a global economic collapse that snatches financial security out from underneath me or an unexpected medical diagnosis that changes the landscape of my future. What I know now, that I didn’t know when I was younger is that unexpected change is the rule rather than the exception.
We can plan and scheme and work to our heart’s content to institute measures to prevent unwanted change and to create only good outcomes. But we cannot plan for everything nor can we foresee what will come our way. Our fear driven efforts to control our world are really quite useless.
The good news is that if we can accept the limitations to our control over the future and become instead like a leaf in a stream, then we can tap into our real strength and real place of control…our response. Not that we shouldn’t do the best we can to create an external life that is comfortable and secure, but our real efforts are more wisely spent finding our inner security and comfort. When we find a quiet little corner in our hearts where we feel safe, secure and loved then we can face any eventuality without being destroyed.
Life is good. Life is good when we live from the inside out.
Thanks for stopping by. You are important to me and you make a difference to my world.
Dorothy
Aging Abundantly | Women Over Fifty | Empty Nesters | Caregivers | Aging Gracefully 
Love this. The first sentence caught my attention, and I was hooked. So true and well-written. Thanks for posting. I’ll be sharing on Facebook.
Thanks Patricia!
Dorothy ~ Your thoughts never cease to amaze me and they always touch something deep inside. You make me think a little harder than I normally might and I love that about you. Blessings to you this week, my friend on the East side of the country. ^_^
Thanks Diane. I was just thinking about you today and working on my write up of you! I think we’ve traveled similar paths somehow. Glad what I write makes a difference to you. 🙂
a shared thought that flows with your post . . . “rest gracefully within yourself” . . . May we do just that.
yes, indeed.
I just posted this on my fb and blog and said that “I wish I had written it” it is so true and such a tough lesson to learn. Thank you for writing this. laurie, hibernationnow.wordpress.com
Thanks Laurie! Many of the lessons we are learning now seemed to be “tough” lessons! I guess we are reaping some of the benefits of our struggles…It sure helps us to see the value in them!
How true – the unexpected is the rule. Sometimes several times in a day. I’m so glad my age is such that I know that. Thx Dorothy for writing what I think. That is what makes you so special.
I always appreciate your comments Elizabeth and glad you stop by to read. If you didn’t we be just passing each other on the Twitter highway! Not enough room there to really connect!
I shared this on facebook as well. It is a message I needed to hear today. Thank you Dorothy.
Must have been karma Dianne! Thanks for sharing.
I love this…. I think I’ll share on fb as well. Please post more often. We need you. God bless.
Thanks Ali! That is the nicest thing in the world you can say to a writer! I will do my best. 🙂
Dorothy ~ You ALWAYS do your best and it definitely shows! Keep up the great writing! ^_^
Life is no different than the tide rolls in, ever changing, always in motion. As a once upon surfer girl, I learned very young that while riding the tide seemed like the same journey, it’s experience and outcome was always uniquely its own. What I took from that was not to label anything, but to simply experience it, regardless of the path I found myself on. When we don’t label things, it can free us to experience things without the added weight of expectations, or judgments. (:
Willow ~ You’ve given a wonderful life analogy. Thank you for sharing it. I need to remember what you’ve learned….let the experience be primary and not to label things. This is great! Many blessings! ^_^
What a wonderful way to view life! I totally agree with you and understand that we have to try our best at everything but also know that the outcome may not be what we wanted or expected! This is a very difficult lesson to learn when you are young. When I became a young (33) single Mom of 3 children I learned very quickly that life throws us curve balls constantly but we have to be able to bobb and weave to miss them! I took one day at a time and learned to be very grateful for the blessings that I had. They weren’t monetary or physical but I had many blessings. You are right that life changes constantly and the acceptance of that fact is what is so difficult for some people. When we reach a certain “age” the acceptance seems to be much easier and the knowledge that this is what life is all about seems to come almost naturally…. but of course it didn’t . It was formed in our hearts and minds from years of trial and error, loss and gain, and love and sadness.
Lovely post,Dorothy with a simple,yet very powerful message-to “live life from the inside out” It all reminds me of the Serenity Prayer-know what we can control and accept what we can’t. Thanks for sharing this important reminder that life is what we make it, no matter how many curve balls are thrown at us!
Nice to see you here Kathy! Thanks for your kind words and thoughts. I love the Serenity Prayer. It’s one of my favorite!
How true! Life turns on a dime, and focusing on creating internal peace, as you suggest, has become a daily practice in my life. Go inward!