The first thing that comes to mind is to throw EXPECTATIONS out the window when family comes to visit! I fancy myself as a practiced meditator who lets things flow around her . When I totally lost the thread of things, it was because I had not looked for the clues and suddenly found myself in deep sh…. letting everything get to me and feeling STUCK and ANNOYED.
As Pema Chodron says: ( The Pocket Pema Chodron)
‘Ego is like a room of your own, a room with a view and with the temperature and smells and the music that you like. …the more you try to get it your way, the less you feel at home when you go out… You become touchier, more fearful, more irritable than ever. “
As I am now a year older and heading into a new decade, I am more aware of how PRECIOUS time with family and friends is. I am reevaluating my PURPOSE. As the saying goes, CARPE DIEM, seize the day. This was also the name of my in laws place. How am I spending my time each day? So the times in the river and ocean with my husband, at the beach with the grandchildren, the laughs with daughters and in laws and friends, all of this was a GIFT. Amazing August is slipping away.
The next awareness is all tied up in the first two and it is the importance of letting go of JUDGEMENT. What good does it do to judge myself or others? Having some compassion, tenderness and patience is very helpful on a moment to moment basis.
Amazing August is coming to a close and I thank her for deep family connections, learning more about ego’s hold, and any peace and clarity I have received. Thank you, August.