Navigating The Stream ... Going With The Flow

I am a woman who used to live with lots of regrets. 

 

I worried and fretted "ad nauseam", second guessing myself constantly.  Whenever something went wrong, I would analyze nearly to death every action, every thought, every word and every deed, wondering, "What would have happened IF ...?"

 

Good grief!

 

Half of the things I worried about just NEVER happened.  No, more than that!  89% of the things I worried about never happened.  10% of the things that happened, I never even thought about and 1% actually was worse than I could have imagined!

 

Did all that worrying and fretting do anything but give me indigestion?  Nope!

 

My friend, Daisy, talks about the spiral path ... Natalie Cole sings a song about going all around the world to find something just five minutes away ... I wonder now, why it took me so long to TRUST that things just were the way they were ... and today, they just are what they ARE ...

Simple! 

 

That doesn't mean we don't have a choice in what we do.  We did and we do.  We chose THIS place!  If this is where we are at ... we must be here for a reason ... so let me look around and see what there is to see ... What lesson does today hold for me? 

 

Better yet, what blessing will I find?  What nugget of truth is resting somewhere in the unfolding of the day?  What miracle will I be a witness to?

 

Looking at the past, fretting about decisions already made, or worrying about what could have been just keeps us stuck in the precarious place of driving in one direction while looking over our shoulder and not paying attention to what's in front of us at all!  How long will it be before we get in trouble doing that?  LOL!!!  It wouldn't take long for even the best driver to hit something!

 

Looking too far ahead is almost the same thing.  I was driving down the highway once when I looked over and saw a man looking at a map while he was trying to drive!  He had the whole thing unfolded, covering most of his view and trying to figure out where he was going!  I slowed way down and let him go on ahead where I could keep an eye on him ... There is no way he could have been giving the road his full attention with all that going on!

 

But how many times do we do that too?  I can think of times I was so worried about something coming up that I was miserable for days, planning and writing lists and running around, trying to make sure EVERY THING was PERFECT!  

 

All those things turned out just fine.  Even if something didn't go as planned, it still was lovely and no one but me really knew that it was a mistake ... or was it? 

Some of the most precious memories I have are of the little unplanned miracles that popped up in the middle of my well-made plans.

 

My daughter's wedding was only a week away.  It was my second wedding so I had everything covered ... Invitations ... Place ... Minister ... Dress ... Bridesmaids Dresses ... Flowers ... Food ... Drinks ... Cake ... I felt pretty good about how smoothly every thing had fallen into place. 

Two days before the wedding, I called to arrange pick-up of the cake.  They didn't know what I was talking about!  It seems that the girl who had taken my order had quit that day and never turned inmy order!  They were in full swing on 3 other weddings and they couldn't help me!!!

Unbelievable!

 

My Mom had just come into town, and she does wedding cakes at home but she didn't have anything with her ... We put our heads together and I called Publix.  They were a new grocery store in town, but they had the BEST tasting cakes and I figured we'd go with a couple of sheet cakes if nothing else ... Mom and I drove across town to the store and the sweetest lady was working in the bakery.  I told her what had happened, ending my story in tears.  She came around the counter, hugged me and said, "No problem.  We can handle this.  I baked some extra cakes this morning.  Let's see what we can do."

 

She and Mom talked and came up with an idea ... simple plan ... three tiers ... three different flavor cakes ... butter cream icing on every layer and my daughter would still get to use her cake topper too!  She promised to have it ready the next afternoon.

 

It was the prettiest cake I had ever seen.  She had added a few extra touches and flourishes ... like love gifts to my daughter ... The cake wasn't just pretty.  It was moist and every layer was flavorful.  My eyes fill with tears even now ... to think of how that mess turned into a beautiful memory of my Mom helping with the cake and meeting a sweet, sweet angel that bakes cakes at Publix!


I didn't have anything to do with the planning of that memory, but it is one of my favorites.  I think of it often when I am planning a party or a get-together and I start obsessing over the details ...

There might be a good REASON things don't always go as planned!

Setting high goals and having high standards is a good idea, as long as we remember that nothing ever really turns out PERFECT, but sometimes, when we don't even try, things are BETTER than PERFECT!

There is no reason to lose our peace or give up our joy by getting bogged down in regrets or guilt or worry!  Relax ... ENJOY the moment.  Quit looking back ... Put down the map and the plan book and the to-do lists and look around at this BEAUTIFUL day!

 

It's your's to do WHATEVER you want with it!

Make it a good day!

 

 

Footnote:  Just as I finished my thought, I took a break to read some of my emails, and this was in this morning's mail!    

" ... Going with the flow means that we are aware of an energy that is larger than our small selves and we are open to working with it, not against it.

Many of us are afraid of going with the flow because we don't trust that we will get where we want to go if we do. This causes us to cling to plans that aren't working, stick to routes that are obstructed, and obsess over relationships that aren't fulfilling. When you find yourself stuck in these kinds of patterns, do yourself a favor and open to the flow of what is rather than resisting it.

 

Trust that the big river of your life has a plan for you and let it carry you onward. Throw overboard those things that are weighing you down. Be open to revising your maps. Take a deep breath and move into the current."

 

 

How cool is that?!!!

 

(smiling)

 

I get goose bumps every single time THAT happens ... where I am thinking, writing or talking about a thing and I pick up a book or read an email or see a magazine article that adds to the thought in the most beautiful way ...

 

Every SINGLE day has something new for us to learn ... if we just go with the flow.  Keep our eyes open.  Don't waste time looking back.  Don't worry too much about what lies ahead.  It will still be there when we get there! 

 

What TRUTH will float your way today?