running on auto-pilot ~~~

The thing about running on auto-pilot is that there's a whole bunch of stuff you 'miss' and then, when other stuff results, you can't figure out why. For example: you get in your car to run this errand or that. You put the key in the ignition, fire up the engine, put the car in gear, and GO. Before you know it, you've reached your destination without even knowing how you got there. This is a prime example of running on auto-pilot. In this particular example, I've left out any mishaps or crashes that may occur as a result of your auto-piloting. Mostly because I don't think it's necessary to get into all that drama. Point is, you got from here to there without noticing one single thing. It's as if you were in some kind of time-warp. When this happens to me (not often anymore, thank the heavens!) it always gives me the creeps. Which is why I don't run on auto-pilot anymore. Just don't like the feeling. Also don't much care for the results (or lack thereof).

Here's the thing: this AP mode also applies to the thoughts we think on a regular basis. We're just too 'busy' to pay attention. We have so much to do. We have all this stuff that needs tending. We only have so many hours in a day. Etc., etc., ad nauseam. But the sad end of this stick is that if we're not paying attention to said thoughts, we are on a never-ending loop that never brings anything new into our lives. Like that movie, "Groundhog Day". Poor guy just kept living the same day over and over until he was about to go insane. Or maybe he did go insane. When he finally figured out what was happening, he also realized that it was some grand lesson he was meant to learn. He had to stop being the drone he was and pay attention. Once he got that, his endless loop stopped. He was a new man. He was 'reborn'.

Same goes with these continual thoughts we think without knowing we're thinking them. How in the world do you expect to change anything if you're thinking the same thoughts. Just ain't gonna happen. In order to make the changes in our lives we so desperately want, we must pay attention to what's going on in our little pea-brains. We must set intentions and stay focused. We must demand more from the gray matter between our ears. It's not about "earning" or "working for" or "deserving". It's about knowing, deep in your gut, that you ARE worthy. That you have already done all you need do to warrant these things you wish for. It's about paying close attention to the things that bring you joy and ignoring the things that annoy you. Because, in the end, it's not about erasing the "bad stuff". It's about creating the "good stuff". This is completely within your power, if only you will readjust your focus. Then, little by little (and sometimes in grand leaps) you will see the changes unfold as easily as a flower blossoms. No pain. No work. No aggravation. Just a gentle, easy unfolding that is as 'right' as rain. It isn't nearly as hard as you may think. And if you will be gentle with yourself, as you would with a child or a puppy or a treasured friendship, your world will blossom just like that flower.

I am NOT kidding.

resistance is futile

"resistance is futile". probably one of the scariest phrases i'd ever heard back when Jean Luc Picard was running the Starship Enterprise. used the scare the bejeebers outta me when the Borgs would show up. scary scary scary. then there was the episode where the great Captain Picard was turned into one. omigod! i'm tellin' ya, that stuff used to creep me out. but i was glued. mostly cuz i was in love with ol' Jean Luc. sexy to the core.

anyway...that was a long time ago. still i recall those words and now, i'm happy to say, they mean something entirely different. 

"resistance is futile". 

so true. 

but now, the reason it isn't scary anymore is because i know some things i didn't know then.

like how much ickier life is when you push against stuff.

like how much it hurts you when you do.

like how the less you resist, the more you flow.

kinda like water.

put a bunch of rocks and sticks and crap in the river and watch how the water slows.

pull that stuff aside, and watch how it flows MORE.

life is kinda the same way.

the more we resist, no matter what it is, the less we flow. when we remove the junk, and just let things be, especially those things over which we have ZERO control, the more we are free to flow with life instead of pushing against it. funny part? it's really not that hard to do. in fact, it's pretty darned easy.

now, as most of us have already learned, hindsight is always 20/20. it's so much easier to see things after the fact, yes? which is why folks who've been around for a few decades tend to be a bit more easy going than those who are still making their first trips around the sun. that is, if they've had any semblance of consciousness to begin with. i like to think so. sure, there are those who go their entire lives with nary a conscious thought. but i don't pay much attention to those folks. serves no good purpose to focus on that. more and more it's clear that whatever i focus on is precisely what i get more of. so...

as a life-time warrior princess, i know a thing or two about pushing against. i know how to wage war and win. i know how to start a fight and walk away pretty much intact. i also know that the amount of energy needed to win said wars is not worth it. it is far easier (and much more pleasant) to live as a peaceful warrior. therein lies the secret to the futility of resistance.

know what i mean?

Love Your Mother ~

The rains have been falling for 2 days; off and on with bright sun in between. Magnificent rain. Soft rain. Cat'n'Dogs rain. And every kinda rain in between. Rain. And wind. And that eerie darkness that sits over the mountains like a giant hand staving off the sun for just a little while.

On this Earth Day...even Mother seems to be celebrating. Rain for all the new babies of Spring. Tulips and roses and daffodils and lavender and sage and all manner of colorful, flowery things. The smell of orange blossoms will not be daunted by the rains. Oh no. They seem to enjoy the washing...and send those smells ever stronger. The hummingbirds, too, seem to be completely elated. They zig and zag, this way and that, as if dancing with the raindrops. Truly amazing feats of grace.

For me, this is the PERFECT weather for Earth Day. What better way to honor Her than to dance in the rain? What better way to appreciate all She has to offer than to go stomp in a puddle and stick out your tongue and catch the drops? And when the sun peeks out, for those few moments in between down-pours, to scan the sky for rainbows? What could be better than THAT???

I love this Mother who feeds me. And offers her laughter through the gazillions of flowers. I love this Mother who has always protected me and given me all I need. I love this Mother Earth. Not just today, but EVERY DAY.

And it is my greatest wish that we can ALL remember to love her...

EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Happy Earth Day, my friends.
Hold her well.