Thoughts From the Bowling Alley

I went bowling the other evening...real bowling, not Wii bowling and not 10-pin...Candlepin! Usually, the first string is just a warm up, but by the second string I'm prepared...I focus holding the bowling ball right, keeping my hand and wrist straight, lining my release up with those little arrows, centering...and I always seem to do worse! So I decide to just 'roll' with it because it's about having fun, right? As I look down the lane at the pins, I notice their reflective glow on the polished floor and decide to change tactics. I forget about all the other little details and just focus on those pins, my attention solely on the one I want to connect with. Magic! And I suddenly feel inspired...when I keep my sights on my desired goal, without getting hung up in trying to figure out all the little details, life seems to work a magic all it's own in getting me there.

A few years ago, when I was first starting out as a Massage Therapist and Reiki Practitioner, I sat down and wrote a list of all the things I wanted in a job. I didn't limit myself...what would I want if I could have everything I wanted? I included the physical/tangible aspects of the job and the spiritual and emotional components. I filled the paper and then put it away. The spa I began working in closed after only 7 months of being open. However, it was only through working there, the people I met and its closing, that I was led to working at The Reiki Room. A few months later I found that list again (about a year after I'd written it) and realized quite joyously that everything had come to fruition! I didn't force those details, I didn't negotiate for them. I let the universe know what I desired and left the details up to something greater.

There was a freeness to this experience for me. I don't have to control every aspect of my life. In fact, when I try to, I tend to lose sight of the magic and mystery of life. I envision my desired outcome and then allow the path to unfold before me. It doesn't happen immediately, and sometimes the route seems longer, but the patience is worth it!

An Eagle's View

I recently spent an evening in Boston on the 50th floor of the Prudential Center. What a breathtaking view! The city takes on a whole new appearance at night from this height. As Ron said, "Boston looks clean from up here." Removed from the hustle and bustle, from traffic jams and trash...we were looking down upon twinkling stars of streetlamps and headlights, the glow of lighted windows, rivers of highways, and the dark stillness of the Charles (while "love that dirty water" played appropriately in the background!)

And it got me to thinking about how important it is to occasionally rise above the daily grind of life. It can be so easy for me to get caught up in what I perceive as the problems that make life a little "dirty". From up here, all those things look so little...from up here, even the traffic jams look beautiful! This is the medicine of Eagle. Eagle is a "symbol of greater sight and perception." They feed themselves from the land, but still soar to great heights. Eagle teaches us to "broaden our sense of self beyond the horizon of what is presently visible." [Animal Speak by Ted Andrews; Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams & David Carson]

I certainly can't spend all my time up here. There is a wide spectrum of experiences to be had...all the things from life on this earth that feed me. But in the midst of some of the more frustrating ones, rising above for a bit helps me to gain a new perspective; to come to appreciate every experience for the beauty inherent in it, even if I can't always see it from close up. Even the view from the Prudential is just a small reminder of a much bigger picture!