Clearing The Fog

 

It's foggy today.  Gray and thick, the woods would make the perfect setting for a mystery novel today.  I sat on the back porch drinking tea and listening to the birds, hearing them before they appeared in the mist.  I smiled to myself, still thinking of my woods as a movie set, they wouldn't have to use the fade effect today.

How interesting it is that when the fog limits my view, it also magnifies sound.  The river and the waterfall almost sound closer and I can hear the neighbor working in the barn.  She's singing something, but I can't quite catch the tune.  I hear a screen door slam at my other neighbor's house and he's talking to his dogs.  My neighbors don't live close at all so this is a treat to hear other people's every day float up the hill.  The wind in the trees usually muffles those neighborly sounds but there is no wind this morning.  Just the sound of birds, neighbors, the creek and the waterfall ...

(taking a deep breath)

 

I think I smell rain.  We have been working up the gardens and a little rain would add to the mix before we plant this weekend.  The thought of planting put me back on task.  I have a pretty long list of things I want to get done today.  As much as I don't want to leave the porch and the sounds of morning, I have to check my mail, write a note to you and head out before the rain!

I have enjoyed my foggy morning with fade effects, but not every one likes the fog.  It isn't fun to drive in, that's for sure!  My friend sent me this email from the Daily OM yesterday and it's foggy today.  Maybe, I could request a Daily Om on sunshine for tomorrow?  LOL ... It couldn't hurt!
   
 

Coming Out Of A Haze (Fog) 

When we feel muddled and unfocused, unsure of which way to turn, we say we are in a fog. Similar to whenwe are in a fog in nature, we may feel like we can't see where we're going or where we've come from, and we're afraid if we move too quickly we might run into something hidden in the mists that seem to surround us. Being in a fog necessarily slows us down by limiting our visibility. The best choice may be to pull over and wait for the murkiness to clear. If we move at all, we must go slowly, feeling our way and keeping our eyes open for shapes emerging from the haze, perhaps relying on the taillights of someone in front of us as we make our way along the road.

By and large, most of us prefer to be able to see where we are going and move steadfastly in that direction, but there are gifts that come from being in a fog. Sometimes it takes an obstacle like fog to get us to stop and be still in the moment, doing nothing. In this moment of involuntary inactivity, we may look within and find that the source of our fogginess is inside us; it could be some emotional issue that needs tending before we can safely go full steam ahead. Being in a fog reminds us that when we cannot see outside ourselves, we can always make progress by looking within. Then again, the fog may simply be teaching us important lessons about how to continue moving forward with extreme caution, harnessing our attention, watching closely for new information, and being ready to stop on a dime.

We cannot predict when a fog will come, nor can we know for certain when it will lift, but we can center ourselves in the haze and wait for guidance. We may find it inside ourselves or in a pair of barely visible taillights just ahead. Whether we follow the lights out of the fog, wait for a gentle breeze to lift it, or allow the sun to burn it away, we can rest certain that one way or another, we will move forward with clarity once again.



Life is funny sometimes.  I have probably lived most of my life in some sort of haze, being tugged and pulled from all sorts of directions, never knowing what to expect or what I would come up on next ... The fog wasn't just around me either.  It was in me.  I was as foggy as the fog I struggled through!

I can relate to this:  Being in a fog reminds us that when we cannot see outside ourselves, we can always make progress by looking within.  I DID look within.  I found so many things that had been a part of me so long, I had forgotten them.  Some of those things were useless, self-defeating notions ... I got rid of those once and for all.  Some of those things were treasures, pearls of wisdom and experience, that needed to be dusted off and put back into use!  It has been like spring cleaning of the soul!  No one can completely change their personality, but we can learn to live in who we really are! 

Finding comfort in our own skin can change everything.  Each of us, when we are ready, or when life gives us no other choice, will have the opportunity to do our inner work ... where we go inside, look around, rearrange a few things to make ourselves more comfortable and settle in to our selves.  It is what people mean when they say, "we need to be centered" or when they talk about "getting their life together".

I wasted so much time and so many years looking for answers out there in the fog when all the answers I ever needed were already here inside of me.  Sure, I accidentally tapped into it once in a while ... What do I mean by that?  You will know when you are tapping into that part of yourself when you catch yourself saying something that is really good or you find yourself doing something that you never thought you could do.  I had those moments, but they were random and fleeting.

Today, I know exactly where I can find the things I need to take care of myself and those around me.  I have a library of wonderful resources, plenty of light to explore with, a comfortable place to rest, and room enough for all the treasures life has to offer, right here inside me!  There is not one single thing out there that can truly make us happy until we are happy from the inside, all the way to the core of who we are.  Life can be really good when it's lived from the inside out!  Sure it takes a little work, but aren't each of us worth it?  What else are we doing?  What could possibly be more important than taking care of ourselves?

This is not exclusive.  I do not have all the answers or the corner on the truth.  What worked for me might not work for you.  It's not how each of us gets to this place that's important.  It's that we do what we can to get to that place inside each of us.  If you want to find your own answers, all you have to do is ask!  Be willing to take the steps as they come to you.  It will feel strange and uncomfortable at first if you have always put your faith in others, but it is okay to trust yourself.  You're stronger than you think.  We all are.  Really. 

Let me tell you something that I know about you.  You were put on this earth to be exactly who you really are.  That's right.  There is a treasure inside you that only you can uncover for the rest of the world to see.  It is the real you, and the real you is beautiful.