Sunday, December 28, 2008

Today's Medicine: Independence

Sacred Sunday is a fitting name for today: we had a substantial amount of sunshine, for the first time in a while. It was quite invigorating. It's been over a week since I drove my car, so my first order of business was to take a shovel to the slush and ice barrier to the entrance of our driveway. What a mess! I brought it down to a more manageable level and made my attempt to leave my cozy house to get some groceries and a couple gift items for my family. Success! It took me three times but I made it out the drive and I was on my way. It felt really good to drive around town, go to the library to pick up some local birding books and then head north to my father's house on Camano Island (We'd had to delay our Yule celebrations due to the dreadful weather.) The main roads were pretty darn clear, thank gods. And I got to thinking about how happy I was to putter down the road, listening to Mari Boine yoiking her heart out.

I know I'm an independent sort. I can be quite catlike if I put my mind to it and sometimes even when I don't. I'm not exactly contrary, at least I'm not much of the time. I just don't care for too many constraints on my time/energy/space/whatever. It sometimes conflicts with having an open heart and being in service to others. I've learned a bit about my need for Independence this month. Having Mother Nature put her foot down and keep most of our region in deep snow for a couple weeks has helped me remember how to go with the flow and not grip the idea of "I'm in control of this situation" so firmly. Today I recognized that my joyful feelings were directly tied to whether or not I felt I was free to do what I wanted. I've a sneaking suspicion that I'll get to revisit this lesson again more than once over the Winter season. Ah, the joys of learning opportunities...

No comments:

Post a Comment