Be the Sky

Hi everyone,

On my walk this morning it was so foggy I could hardly see 5 feet in front of me. I have walked on the same country road for 35+ years yet today it felt mysterious and foreign. I was uncertain about who or what I might run into and I became tentative and cautious.

Foggy uncertainty is what most of the world has been experiencing in the past 11 months isn't it?  Our usual path has been obscured from view and our familiar landmarks and reference points have been upended.

Over this past year, I too have had many moments of bewilderment and had to stop and pause to recalibrate my direction.

When a gymnast on the balance beam begins to fall, she doesn't just keep going, she stops, regains her balance, focuses on her next move and only then continues on.

This week I facilitated a Zoom call with 60+ hospice Chief Clinical and Operations Officers from across the US. The levels of exhaustion and frustration are still very high, vaccine rollouts are stimied, finding nurses and aides to work in facilities and in homes with dying people is more and more challenging and the staff who are still working want more flexibility in their schedules and accommodation in order to home-school their young children. One colleague said "I think this is worse than last spring, it feels like it will never end" and the old way of doing things just isn't working.

As the extreme weather (except for you San Diego!) continues across the US we know, and have faith that weather, no matter how good or bad, comes in cycles and moves on. The sky is permanent, stable, whole. Just like we are within. Everything else is just weather.

Then I was reminded of the quote by the Buddist nun Pema Chondon "You are the sky, everything else is just weather".

So if you are having a day when things feel foggy or stormy, and you're ready to throw in the towel, just remember, you are the sky, this dangerous, frigid, and dreary weather and yes, even Covid19 will pass. As my friend and colleague, Pauline's mom would say "it may be long, but it won't be forever".

Pause, find your balance, and then keep putting one foot in front of the next.

Be the Sky, not the weather.

Love and Light,

Patti