I have been in a deep study of perceptions lately. The angels have challenged me to constantly look at the world with wonder, no matter what is happening in my mind, my body or my life. They told me I’d be challenged this month, and I have been, but at the same time I am persisting in perceiving the world with wonder, and in turn my world is wonderful!
Take Monday for example. I finished up my office work and went out into the yard an hour before sunset to trim the oleanders. I love the oleanders 363 days a year. On the two days I trim them, I can relate to mothers who say that you forget the pain of childbirth soon after the child arrives. I forget how much work it is to trim these beautiful trees that during my bi-annual pruning-fest look more like large weeds. Nonetheless, it was a nice afternoon, bulk trash pickup is scheduled for next week so I only had to haul the branches to the front yard, and since the sun was setting the usual bugs were nicely tucked in bed – otherwise known as ‘perfect trimming conditions.’ And so I groaned and grunted and stretched and jumped, wielding my 2-foot pruning shears like mighty mouse on steroids, chopping away 2″ thick branches that were hanging over the neighbors fence and shading my garden. Things were going along pretty well, when one of the branches fell on my head, and hit me smack in the lips! Normally that would not be a big deal except for the fact that oleander sap is toxic! I forgot that until a few seconds elapsed and my lips started stinging and swelling! In a panic, I ran into the house both cussing and laughing at the same time. I often think my life should be either a sitcom or a freak show and when I was vehemently rubbing the bar of laundry soap that I keep by the sink for just such emergencies over my lips, I figured that if the camera’s were rolling this would be a real comedy. So I stood there, head over the sink, kissing the bar of soap and rinsing under running water at the same time till the poison was washed away. And then I sat there, elbow on the countertop for a moment, rolling with laughter. I never dreamt that the first time I got my mouth washed out with soap it would be ME who did it!!! And instead of feeling sorry for myself, I got such a kick out of the incident that I’m still laughing.
It has been a week like that! I took a hike last weekend during which my mind wandered far outside the present moment. I looked up just in time to notice a BEE, BE-lining straight for me. I watched in wonder as it HIT me square between the eyes and bounced off then buzzed around my head insistently, around as if to say, “Wake up and BEE present!” Oh my goodness! A bee bopping me on the third eye? A date with a bar of soap? What a week! I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard in ages.
In the past I would have felt so sorry for myself! Poor me. The only bug on the trail terrorized me. Poor me. I have to do heavy labor. Poor me. A branch fell on my head. Poor me. I had to wash my mouth out with soap. Poor me… And even writing this I’m laughing myself silly because life IS funny, or at least educational, when we can step outside of our preconditioned responses and just observe it from a different angle. (I always want to type “angel” when I type the word “angle” … and I don’t think that’s a mistake!)
Even situations that aren’t so funny can finally be perceived in a kinder or more lighthearted manner when we step out of our limited human viewpoint and see through the eyes of our soul. Years ago, I dated a man who was a great guy but had a lot of childhood anger inside of him. He’d been pretty abused, and me being me, I made it safe for all that pain to come up and out. He aimed it at me. Everything was my fault, according to him. At first I tried reason. I tried to make nice. I tried arguing back. The angels patiently guided me to let him be him, but also to let me be me. They guided me to see that his anger had nothing to do with me. And one day I got it. We were in the car and he was raging at me for something his mom did years ago, and then all of the sudden the absolute absurdity hit me. I can’t even explain how I got this perspective except to say that the “laughing Buddha” is one of my spirit guides and I think he possessed me. Suddenly from this highly altered perspective, I saw a little boy in a man’s body throwing a royal tantrum. And for some reason, it was funny. It struck me as such an absurd waste of time not to love, not to communicate, not to heal. And beyond the situation in front of me, the absurdity of the human condition hit me like a brick. Here I was loving him and he was feeling totally unloved! And I knew that in my past I have felt totally unloved when God and others love me like crazy. It just all of the sudden seemed unbelievably ridiculous. I started laughing. I couldn’t help myself. The laughter rose up from my depths and the more I laughed, the madder he got, till at long last he burst into laughter too. It wasn’t fake; it was the laughter that comes from seeing the truth – this is all just learning , all just education. We are always loved. We are always taken care of. We are eternal and nothing can damage our souls. We ARE love after all.
We get SO serious about things, and yet, everything we’ve ever worried about we’ve handled so far. Every horrid thing you feared in your life in the past is behind you now. Every person we’ve ever worried about is still a soul, beloved by God, yes learning lessons, but in the end, eternal and alright. So are you! I bet right this moment, sitting at your computer, reading this message – in this single moment – life is pretty good. Hopefully you can feel my energy reaching out to give you a little lift and a big hug or a congrats if you’re doing well. Not so bad, for this moment 🙂 If you’re going through something hard in your life try to take a step back and see it through the eyes of eternity. Pray to see it through God’s eyes.
This week, try to make up perceptions about life that are more supportive of the way you want life to be. Ask for a sense of humor and if you can’t find yours call on the spirit of the laughing Buddha (the big fat joyous abundant one that teaches us to live life with gusto) to come into your life and help you see the joy in it. Spirit is frequency, and his frequency is totally uplifting.
I hope you don’t have bees hit you, or branches fall on you, but if you do, remember – its all love!!
Choose wonder!
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