Day 26: The seahorse
Yesterday started out rough. ROUGH. By noon I had already gotten myself so upset and thrown a tantrum or two. "Why cant I be this way" "Why cant I be that way" "Why isnt anything going the way I WANT". Well. I think we all have days like this, no? I was just so worked up about things in life I can not control. It gets so frustrating sometimes to want something so bad, and have no control whatsoever over it being that way.
I decided to stop throwing a pity party for one, and do something that will soothe me. So, I turned to knitting. No only knitting, but knitting a special gift for someone.
Theres something healing about giving isnt there? I can not post pictures because her surprise will be ruined ( I know your all wanting it to be you....) But, its very special, and I cant wait for her to get it. Amazing how that helped me. Then, Monday night is meditation night! I was getting dressed and saw a necklace in my drawer that my mom made for me. I beautiful seahorse. I put it on. Again, a gift given, happiness.
So, at meditation night the leader was talking about various Buddhist beliefs, which are found in many religions, which I found to be very true. (lets not turn this into a religious debate ya'll)
Point 1: Life is constantly changing.
Point 2: There is suffering in life. Well, duh. I have suffering in my life too.
Point 3: The cause of this suffering is our "attachment". Which, in listening to his talk, basically I got that we grasp so hard to the way we think our life SHOULD be, and suffer because... we cant control it. Thats life.
Thats exactly what I have been struggling with lately. I struggle because I see parts of my life "not fitting" with how I think things should be. I "suffer" (throw tantrums) because I cant just accept life for what it is, constantly changing and unpredictable.
Interestingly enough, I remembered being in a native American gift shop the other day, and I was reminded that many ancient cultures attributed special meanings to animals. I remember that I saw a seahorse in there. I got home last night and looked up the special meaning of the seahorse. This is what I found: They are known to be a symbol of patience and contentment. "Being content to be who they are". They are also known to be stubborn. In turbulent water they are known to wrap their tails on something to hold on. This is said to be a reminder to: be persistent in our goals, but be mindful that we are not too inflexible or stubborn in our achieving them.
May I be like this seahorse. Content with my life now, but persistent and mindful in reaching my goals....
10 comments:
Wow, I had no idea about the seahorse! What a great piece of jewelry to wear....
Nicely said, my sweet sis... nicely said. You have much to be grateful for and I am grateful for you! Love you!
Wow, we should all wear Seahorses! I'm glad I made that necklace for you, because it has a great meaning for you now! All very well put! Love you!
Mimi this is a very wise post. After my mom died I spent a lot of time thinking and the big conclusion I came to is one of your big points here - sometimes we want to resist the way things are, and refuse to accept them, but that's impossible. We can only be happy if we can find a way to accept that we can't control the way things are - we can only control how we respond to them.
this is an amazing post- wow,
mimi I heart you....MAMA Colleen
love you! great thoughts, and great attitude. you are setting a good example, and should be proud of yourself. ps, sorry for not commenting on mangos post. give her a kiss for me, and remind her that shes one of ONLY 2 dogs that i let lay on my lap and slobber on me.
I love this post. I think when we are raw the biggest truths are revealed. Thank you for sharing that process with us. Big hugs.
such wise, wise thoughts...
I love some of those buddhist teachings. . .I learn them in my classes too, and I find that many of them are more about life in general than religion. They are wonderful. Sounds like a great class. I would love to go with you sometinme.
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