It is easy to become a creature of habit. Sticking to our routines, taking the same route to work, the grocery store, the same beeline from our bed to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I was inspired by the road work all around where I live in West Seattle, especially the activity right outside my front door. Sidewalks are closed down with cones or even completely torn up along with the street. No matter if you are a pedestrian or a driver, you have to alter your course. This week's reading is giving us the clarity we need to maneuver with eyes wide open through all this upheaval. The universe is putting all this right up in our face, simply daring us to open up to another way, another path.
There are so many ways for us to journey through this life, don't get stuck in what you are used to simply because it's comfortable. I think we've all gotten a little too comfy and all the street work everywhere (viaduct anyone?) is there to rip off the blinders we've been wearing. There's too much out there that we are missing by refusing to simply turn around, cross the street, walk a different road. We are turning our backs on enlightenment. It's a challenge! It might feel uncomfortable at first. Maybe even a bit frightening. We might even get agitated that we have to switch up our commute~it's making us late, we're having to walk for longer, "ugh if I have to sit here for one more minute waiting for my turn to go through this light!". Embrace it. All of it. Even the frustration. Let it all live for a while and let the wisdom of it sink in. It's at those moments that we are being asked to pause that we are being asked to learn something. The brightness of the realization might make you shield your eyes for a moment while you adjust to the light, but adjust you will. And you will no longer be blind to what is right in front of you. In fact, the shaded corners will be visible in all their glory. And you'll feel so strong and unstoppable after moving with such courage, all those initial emotions will be a faint memory and you will be propelled even more forward.
It's this kind of meandering that moves you along the greater path that you are forging in this life. Key word: forging. The possibilities are endless, there's more than one way from point A to point B. And you just might find the love of your life, the perfect park, a cozy little bistro, the local business that you want to support, the new home you've been waiting for... along the way by hiking off your overly-beaten path.
Q - Why did the chicken cross the road?
A - Because he no longer wanted to be chicken.
