“Brrt. Brrrt.” I turned the key in the ignition and got nothing. Nada. The brand new car battery that was installed just three weeks ago – fortuitously a few nights before my class up north – had just died. I was not pleased.
I was SO looking forward to the first weekend in ages with no obligations whatsoever. I had decided to stay home, enjoy creative projects, and work around the house. Gusty winds and hot weather made hiking unattractive since being sandblasted in a slot canyon isn’t my idea of fun! Clear skies, perfect weather, and balmy breezes at home made a staycation sound really attractive.
So I wasn’t happy when, after running the one errand I needed to do early Saturday morning, I got back in the car to discover that the brand new battery was stone-dead. I reminded myself quickly, “I prefer to feel good.” My thoughts started to run down all-too-well programmed paths. “There we go. My one time to rest. I need a recharge!” I caught myself spiraling downward and shifted quickly. “I prefer to feel good! Life is what is. I am who I am. What do I want?” I pondered. I want the battery fixed. I want the root cause of the dead batteries to be easily figured out. I want that fixed. I want to get this all handled quickly so I can enjoy my weekend. I started to feel into that future. I started to surrender to the moment. This was a boulder. How could I flow around it? How could I find love in the moment?
I looked at the sky which was absolutely gorgeous. Puffy clouds obstructed the hot sun so it was balmy and beautiful with a hint of moisture in the air. It felt like beach weather. That was a wonderful thought. If I had to be temporarily stranded, I was in a safe spot in the most gorgeous weather we’ve had all week. I inhaled the breeze and imagined standing with my toes in the sand. What a glorious thought! My mood, and vibration, already lifted. Puffy gorgeous clouds floated overhead. For a moment I forgot I was stranded and took photos.
Back to the matter at hand, I took a few more seconds to imagine the feeling of having a very knowledgeable and helpful repair person show up, and then in the right vibe, I dialed the road service. In less than fifteen minutes a very knowledgeable and helpful person did show up. He not only replaced my new batter with a newer one but also ran diagnostics and told me I needed to get the alternator repaired. My regular service person wasn’t on duty but the guy who answered the phone adopted me and told me to bring the car in and he’d give me a free rental. Half an hour later I was driving home, problem diagnosed, car being fixed, and me free to enjoy the weekend. It took less than two hours total to flow around that “boulder,” and, having surrendered to the adventure I had fun, met wonderfully helpful, positive people, and ended up enjoying an unexpected, but fun morning… as well as the rest of my restful weekend!
The next boulder didn’t take too long to show up! Monday, I was feeling very wonderful about the whole experience when I arrived home… just in time to see a pipe in my front yard had sprung a leak and was spraying all over the place. I stopped, breathed, laughed, and heard in my head, “Behold I am making all things new!” “God thank you,” I prayed, “but can we do it more gracefully!?” Seriously, I knew how blessed I was to be driving up in time to see this. Had I not been driving home I might not have seen this till the next morning by which time the entire yard would have been flooded.
I didn’t even bother resisting this boulder! I just flowed downstream. The lady at the plumbing company didn’t know if she could get someone out so I cheerfully told her to do her best and if not I’d just find someone else, and it was OK either way. She had a wonderful plumber out in less than an hour.
Life is like this. These were little boulders compared to the major challenges we face with life’s bigger challenges, and yet the principles remain the same. When I’ve had serious health challenges, huge bills, betrayals, or any number of much bigger challenges, I stop, breathe, accept what has already happened, accept myself (happy, angry, or whatever is there), and then focus forward. How can I surrender to love? How can I make the best of right now? How can I find love or bring love into this situation? Then, inevitably life begins to help me flow around the boulder.
There are many challenges and “boulders” in our lives and in the world. They need not be obstacles to our joy, our well-being, our abundance, and our ability to manifest our dreams. They can temporarily cause us to forget the eternal streams of love that guide and assist us. They can appear to obstruct our path. In the end, however, they’re just boulders, and the currents of Divine Love are much stronger, more powerful, wiser, and all-encompassing than any of them. In the end, we can flow around our boulders far more easily than we might imagine... simply by surrendering to love.
Here are a few tips to help you surrender to the greater flow of love and be guided around your boulders…
1. Acknowledge the boulder then focus “downstream”
When something unwanted appears in your path, there’s no way you can deny it. You get a big bill. You were laid off. Your ex won’t pay child support. The weather interferes with your plans. You name it. There are lots of little boulders in life and many big ones. We can’t pretend they didn’t show up. You can, however acknowledge them, and then soon as you can focus on what you desire downstream…
I have a surprise bill. I want to pay it easily and enjoy my life along the way.
Someone just betrayed me. I’m angry! I’m hurt. I want to feel better and stop giving my power, and attract people with integrity.
I just got laid off. Deep breath. I want a new and better job with people I love, doing purposeful work, and a raise!
I just got a nasty diagnosis. Breathe. I want a loving experience of healing and I want to emerge from this healthier, happier, and more balanced than ever before. I want this healing path to be paved with love.
I lost someone I dearly love. I am hurt. I am sad. I want to be comforted. I want to feel their presence with me in spirit. I want comfort, soothing, and to be surrounded by love to help me through it.
The boulders are there. Acknowledge them, then soon as you can begin to shift your focus to the desired outcome. You deserve to feel good.
2. Eliminate the drama…
When something unexpected and unwanted shows up, there is often a tendency to imagine the worst possible outcome. We focus on how this is disrupting our lives, how it shouldn’t be happening, and how it can mess up our finances, or ruin our plans. We focus on what we did wrong or what someone else did wrong. We go through the list of coulda, shoulda, woulda’s.
In reality, all this yak yak is just a distract.
The deeper truth is that we want to feel better. We want the situation handled as easily and lovingly as possible. We want a loving experience of life.
Sometimes we do have to blow off steam before we can calm down. Sometimes we have to seek out a comforting friend or a counselor before we can get to a place of focusing downstream. Do what is needed but remember…
Life is what it is. You are who you are. What do you want? What next?
The less drama, the quicker the loving solution will present itself. Breathe. Focus downstream. You deserve to feel good.
3. Embrace life as an adventure
Little children don’t judge life. They look at it as an adventure. They like it or not. When they do they embrace it. When they don’t they look for something more fun to do or focus on. We can too. I often play the “how can I make this fun?” game. I often ask, “What is there right here, right now, to enjoy?”
Big things aren’t necessary to make the difference in your mood, and therefore your vibration. A bag of popcorn at the car service center can make the wait a treat. A beautiful sky or a tree by the side of the road can be appreciated even while you’re in a traffic jam. When someone is unkind, you can switch to thinking about all the good people in the world. When your body isn’t feeling too great, you can cozy up with a cup of tea, a soft pillow, a good blanket, and a good movie.
No matter what boulders you encounter, there are always ways to reach for the currents of love and to surrender once again to feeling better, vibrating better, and therefore attracting better.
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