Getting Comfortable with the Unexpected
Tao of Yummi, Sutra 41, Part I of II
Things may not always turn out like you expect, but Serendipity is always unexpected. Sometimes you need to get comfortable with the unexpected to break a cycle of attachment to the past.
The past isn’t a prison, but you can choose to imprison yourSelf in memories. What if you had done that one thing in a different way? How about reliving that great moment over and over? Good memories…bad memories…you don’t need to check the marquee to see what’s playing at the Theatre of the Past. It’s all queued up and ready to go. You can isolate yourSelf reliving the past all day, every day, if you so choose. The thing about reliving the past is that you miss the opportunities unfolding in the moment.
There is no marquee at the Theatre of Now. All you know is that something new is always playing. It’s better this way. Without the mystery of the moment, there’d be no room for Serendipity, which only happens in the present. Want Serendipity in your life? Make peace with the unforeseeable and open yourSelf to what’s playing right now.
Being Present, Facing the Gravity of the Past
Feel like you’ve stopped making headway on mindfulness? You haven’t. It’s just the time of year. Family gatherings unfold in the moment, but carry the gravity of the past. You’ve been working so hard on mindfulness…meeting each moment head on and open wide…neither reliving the past nor attaching to expectations for the future. All of a sudden, in the midst of this forward momentum, it feels like you’ve been jerked backwards. What happened? Don’t beat yourSelf up. Your powerful progress hasn’t stopped. You’re just facing the past within the current moment, and it’s attractive.
You spend a majority of moments among people you don’t know very well, without deep history or long-standing relationships. Living into purpose, mindful in the moment, you can be anyone you want, and you’ve become the one you’ve always wanted to be.
Love and kinship — by blood or choice — is your foundation for the future. However, you can’t get around the fact that deep relationships are heavily weighted by the past. It can be confusing to dwell on the past when you know what it feels like being present.
Time with those you love is a deep and dimensional experience. Realize that you will face the past leading up to, during and after family gatherings, even if you’re incredibly mindful. Take comfort, nothing’s changed — each moment is, and will always be, fresh and new. You’re still free to be present, even with the gravity of the past.
You Can’t Change the Past, But You Can Transform It
Though you can’t change history, you can transform the past into inspiration that helps you create the future.
Each moment of your past has gone into creating this person you’re becoming — the most advanced version of yourSelf, seasoned up to the moment. This is the person who strives to take care of you (and those you love) each day, from brushing your teeth in the morning to tucking you in at night. Isn’t this person worthy of your appreciation and love?
Just as you’ve got to have compassion for yourSelf to truly feel compassion for others; you’ve got to love yourSelf, to feel the deepest love for others. You can feel gratitude for each moment that’s gone into making this person you love right now.
What’s more, you can look forward to gratitude for every moment that will shape this person you’ll love in the future. Every mistake is an experiment you’ve performed — a nugget of insight from which you can create the authentic value that’s yours to give. You can either see obstacles as things that block your path or you can see them as part of the path itself.
History may be a great teacher, but it’s you creating the future right now.
(…to be continued in Tao of Yummi, Sutra 41, Part II of II…)
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This is Tao of Yummi, Sutra 41, Part I of II. We publish 3 frames of the full 6-frame strip of conscious cartoonery, twice a week, here on The Coffeelicious.
The Tao of Yummi is a serial conscious cartoon strip about finding your way to the delightful and unexpected through purpose and mindfulness. If you’re living into purpose and mindful in the moment, you’ll open to the infinite love, inspiration and creativity that is already yours.
