Good Morning Friends-
I hope that you had a beautiful weekend. It was a great one over here. In addition to heralding in year 46 on this planet, my family had the opportunity to gather for an impromptu beach date with some dear friends. Regardless of just how close we are to the water, it always amazes me how easy it can be to get drawn away from enjoying nature because of daily life’s cadence and daily work’s call.
Finding the balance of work and rest has been a daily practice.
Over the past decade of getting to know these particular friends, we’ve all encountered highs and lows, unions, celebrations, personal challenges and
victories, and the addition of children to the mix.
Finding the balance between work and rest has been a daily practice- no, this repeated sentence was not a typo.
On this day, the clouds and sunshine danced a tango above as the beach chairs were opened, food to share was spread out, and conversations andupdates were made. All the while, our children ran around like a pack of pups, dug holes to other worlds, and sought precious treasures embedded in the many grains of sand. As the sun crossed farther west, our group decided to embark upon a hike through the dunes before the end of our day. Naturally, the kids fanned out like satellites running ahead to discover and play and then returning back to report their findings as the adults moved steadily forward. At one point in the hike, I found myself walking alone hearing the sounds ahead and behind as a background burble to the louder clattering of the many stones and treasures shifting around heavily in my pockets and backpack. At first, it was comical to be carrying so much but as the walk continued I admittedly found myself wanting to toss said rocks to lighten my own load. As the group regathered to watch the kids dancing around broken ‘pottery’ and race up and down a dune, I listened as they picked up broken shards trying to figure out and remake the stories to their origins. As my hands felt their way around each uniquely shaped stone nested in my pocket, I felt relieved for their weight and thankful that I had not tossed them. Each stone felt like a puzzle piece into the workings of my child’s mind. When we reached home, Kai asked for the stones and set about laying them on the floor in a specific order recounting and retelling why each held importance.
It was humbling.
Adulting is a miraculous challenge. We aim for mastery, we aim for love, we aim for happiness, we aim for acceptance, we aim for competence, we aim to be heard, seen, felt and to leave an indelible impression. These human desires along with our personal histories are our unique and personal collections. They can often either be a springboard for change or a tie that binds us down, but for as much as we try to let them go they are like an energetic boomerang that once thrown, inevitably comes back.
In a practice that chants for us to ‘let it go’ I might suggest that we reroute our perspective to ‘let it be, and let it be seen’. It is our life’s work to hold these very full pockets, but also our personal responsibility and practice to sort and reframe the value and the weight each one of our stones carry. What we may find is that in our own time and alchemical processes, what was a ‘lump’ of an experience may in fact be a key to unlock a door or a diamond to polish and hold in the light.
This October, we look forward to the practice of turning each stone over in the light with you.
With Love-
Sharon & Your TYC Tribe