One day I was sitting on a park bench, fumed about something that was going on in my life. At some point I had the thought, “If I were to shift my focus, maybe I can shift my current attitude.” Suddenly, I noticed two children delightfully laughing and playing at the playground. There was a beautiful ray of sunlight shining through the trees, and the grass had a wonderful hue. The anger didn’t disappear, but, it did loosen its grip just enough that a small widening of awareness was able to seep in. What surprised me most was that nothing external had actually changed, only my relationship to the moment. The thing is, the beauty was always there; I just didn’t allow myself to see it!
When we get caught in our emotions, sometimes we can get laser-focused on the problems at hand. More times than not, it isn’t until we have calmed down that we can see things more clearly. They say among indigenous cultures that where the poison is, the antidote is nearby. Often times, the solutions can be staring us right in the face, like the laughter of children or sunlight filtering through the trees. It may not be exactly what you thought or even wanted, but in retrospect, it usually turns out to be just the right thing.
Another time recently, I was in a slump about something when I entered a line to get water from the local well. The person in front of me all of a sudden turned around and gave me a huge smile. I half-heartedly gave a smile back, and when I turned my head to the person behind me, they too offered an equally bright smile. It was clear to me at that point that the universe was saying, “Hey, it is okay. All will be well!”
In fact, grace is there to support us in every moment of every day. So the next time something doesn’t go your way, because let’s face it, we often learn more from our challenges than from our victories, ask yourself: What is the universe helping me to learn?
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