Ups and Downs: Run with the Cycles of Your Life

Just as mysteriously the gods granted me that week of effortless running,  this week has been all hard work.  My body feels as if it's been twisted up like a twizzler, firing the nerves in all the hot spots,  and making good sleep elusive.   Nevertheless,  the weekend runs gave me plenty of open roads to stretch my heart,  stopping at this beautiful spot on the 35th Ave cut-down I pass regularly, just to absorb the beauty of those big trees.   And this week,  my very modest attempts give me good doses of sun and breezy air.  Whether I walk really fast (which is surely how it must look) or run really slow,  simply moving along will eventually loosen me up and give a rise to the endorphins which situate me for the rest of the day.

Perfectionist and performance oriented folks, as I tend to be,  have difficulty riding with the cycles of life.  Especially now,  with the planet undergoing the most tremendous transformation since Creation,  we are billions of cells in the human/earth body on the receiving end of solar winds, planetary tides,  galactic alignments of all kinds with heavenly forces and bodies we can only barely perceive with either 5 physical senses or any others at our disposal!  And yet,  with brave hearts,  we wake up each day to take up our respective tasks,  arrive at our jobs, take care of our children, our parents, our partners, ourselves....cook our food,  address our issues,  seek solace,  create dreams,  love each other....all while the wobble of existence causes dramatic shifts in our energy or paradigms at any given time.    Is it any wonder there are days when the going is like a magic carpet ride,  full of mysterious and effortless results,  and others when it seems as if the very air is thick like molasses,  holding us up in our hard casings of bodily or emotional distress?

I may have finally found that step back,  where I take a longer look at the Big Picture....and showing up every day at work is honoring the dharma of my mission, making myself available to the Powers that Be in whatever way I'm led,  to offer guidance, inspiration and model the desire to stay in the game.   Or running morphs into a Zen practice of simply moving,  and finding the pace of the day,  no matter what my expectations may demand.   Or creating means finding the elements of my household life like colors in my art box,  making the landscape of my home full of living;  the plants lush and colorful,  the rhythm of work, interactions,  sleep and dreams...the inner life of Soul, impressing itself upon me, and asking me always,  Where is your attention now?  SEE what is truly there!

It takes downtime to appreciate the nurturing of shadows,  silence,  contemplation and solitude.  We mask the benefits with our cultural 'guilt trips',  when instead we can roll with it,  as if we had any other choice,  into our shamanic investigation...and come back out with greater insight,  confidence and resilience!  Why are we so afraid of our own inner Self??  This Valentine's Day,   as the world 'sells' us a picture of romantic love,  remember there is no love possible unless it lives inside of us.  The wounded,  betrayed, childlike heart hiding behind our adult masks, is calling to us to embrace it,  nurture it back into the Soul family,  where your acceptance and integration will give it new life and meaning.   Take a step in the direction of your next cycle and embrace your ups and downs.   Love even the question in-between.