In the end it all makes sense. But, in the meantime...

Why does bad news always seem to come in threes? Why does it seem so patronizing when friends say "you're better off without out them, anyways."? Why do most cars crash within a mile of home? Why do famous last words never seem epic at the time they're being uttered? I guess perspective is lost in the chaos of a storm. And, a tranquil start to a sweet spring day, lulls us into a sense of complacency that offers no protection when a swarm of ill will rockets towards you like a bullet. That may seem dramatic. But, it is easy to relate to being blind-sided by the unfeeling bull run of progress or a colleague's self promotion. On the brightest days, the absence of darkness is only by chance or circumstance or simple timing. And on the darkest days, take comfort that darkness can serve as an important reminder that the brilliant days are not something to take for granted. And in the end, there is always purpose to the night.... never evident in the chaos of the storm. But the tool one crafts to navigate through the bleak path also works to open doors and shore up footing on the wondrous path ahead.

Connections..... We may spend most of our days trying to satisfy our physical needs. But sometimes you just have to stop and ponder the mysteries of life and our connections to the energies around us. Why is it that some places feel like home and others make you long for it? Why are there people you instantly recognize as compliments to your life’s journey while others conjure a sense of dread? Sometimes fate will crisscross paths until you meet those you’re destined to touch. But, maybe we’re responsible for taking some of the initiative. I love to travel. I love to socialize. I love to venture into the unknown knowing not everything or everyone will set a song inside my soul. Probably it’s mostly for that reason....to cast a net as far and wide as energy will allow, to catch some fireflies, and unicorns and angel dust, love songs, wind chimes. Summer scents and starry skies. But, I can’t fully reprimand the hermit. For the net also welcomes slugs and sludge, dark holes and sharp teeth, disease and despair, soul eaters and parasites. In the moment, the course of the fully lived life is an unsettling roller coaster of highs and lows. The secret to joy just might lie at day’s end, when the wisdom to separate the sand from gold is gleaned. That is the beauty of free will. That is the power of choice. That is the key to joy. Recognize the things that steal your light. And, treasuring the things that fill you from with in. Keep just one slug in a bag of perfect apples and decay takes root. But filter out the sediment and you will always drink the sweetest wine. The hermit thinks he has no worries with the world for he knows it not. But the richer man is he who’s lived and lost and learned to chose his tools and jewels along the path. The pace is really unimportant in the end. But, not choosing is not living. Not recognizing how you connect to the things around you is like stumbling through life blind. I was never one to close a door. I never knew which one to close. The choices have become easier with time. Who knew how easy it can be to delete the darkness, stop the decay? Who knew how easy it could be to accept the gift of angels in our midst? For me, a journal seems to help to clarify how to separate the seed from stone. So too, does a long and unscripted walk. I hope these words wash up in your net. Decide later what to keep or throw. And, I hope yours continue to drift into mine. I’ve slammed a few doors shut today. Feels good. As for coffee, tea or me....? that’s a choice for another day. Today, I’ll sleep with fireflies and unicorns and angel dust, the net washed clean. Dream where random thoughts make sense again. Because of time spent pondering the path ahead, the connections to the things close by and the choices made to leave the weight of worthlessness behind.

Replay, but Never Repeat!

Ever wonder why even the most amazing songs can become tiresome when played ad nauseam....why a refreshing rain drop to the forehead can become a proven form of torture when repeated again and again...why the most delicious dish can become unpalatable if it is the only course served day after day? I can’t help feeling it’s because of the linear nature of our present lives.... where progress on the journey satisfies...and limbo is as good as hell. The only time the status quo seems acceptable is when a period of stability eventually lends itself to growth. Such a paradox then, by perhaps some inherent misfiring in the very blueprint of our neural pathways, that so many of us circle back to places that offer no nourishment, no growth, no hope. Why do we return to thoughts of ex’s that bled us of our life force? Why do we offer second chances to those who have shown no remorse for their first offense? Why do we repeat the destructive patterns that we recognize in our parents, continuing the cycle of abuse, of drink and drugs, deception, betrayal, negligence, apathy? Perhaps this is the one obstacle along the path of least resistance. A speed-bump that seems insurmountable for some....until finally enough momentum gained from broken hearts and broken dreams, and even broken bones fills this eddy of wasted time and drives the wandering soul forward. "Replay. But, never repeat". That should be a mantra taught to the young while the map to life is clean and simple. Experience. Dream. Fall. Bleed. Laugh. Cry. But, above all learn! No one should be left behind in the patterns of behaviour that seem apparently destructive to everyone but the one circling. "Replay. But, never repeat." Thank god for friends who hear us fall and repeat those words. Thank god for you. And, yes. I have some catching up to do. But, I want to see you there too, past the speed bumps: found again. Miles to go before we sleep. And, there is much work to do...past the past....the wonder of the new.

The path of least resistance.

In a storm, lightning reaches out with seemingly wild and reckless abandon. But, its course is anything but random. Never will it detour around the simplest path across an electric field from positive to negative charge. So, much of the natural world works that way. Running water passes up the road less travelled for the easy glide on a friction deficient ride. Leaves on trees reach straight for the sun unless external forces intervene. Fire follows fuel. Clouds follow wind. Maybe there's a lesson to be learned in all this. Maybe we complicate things far to much in the thirst to quench our souls. We overlook the wonder only steps away for the expectation that exotic means ever better. We so often throw away the joys we own for the mysterious promise of another. Never allowing yourself to be content may always lead to change. But, when does constant change not just become a circle dance of indecision. I don't say there is anything wrong with challenges and adventures and climbing mountains simply because they're there. But, maybe there's a lesson to be learned in the natural order of things. Try this. Take a day and follow its rhythm..... Wander with the whims of will and see where you end up. You might be surprised how far you go when you allow yourself to walk the spontaneous but surprizingly ordered path of least resistance.