Going with the Flow

“Be a cup and the universe flows into you.  Be an arrow, and the universe retreats from you”.  –Zen Proverb

Ever have one of those days where nothing went right?  Monday was a comedy of errors for me.  Somewhere between arriving late for swimming lessons, leaving the lunch boxes I had meticulously packed for dinner at home on the counter, attempting to buy food from the vending machines to tide over the kids but watching my dollar get eaten ….my patience was gone.   As things continued to spiral down hill, I kept hardening…my mind, my attitude, my perspective.  I believe the Universe sensed my hardening so it kept throwing more challenges my way.  By the end of the night I was crabby, exhausted and not nice to be around.

Once everyone was finally fed and put to bed, I settled into my book and the quote above jumped out at me with a loud “Hey…listen!”.  It took me a nano-second to realize I had been an arrow all day….hardening in response to the curve balls life was throwing me.  My high need for control, as well as my expectations of how things “should be”, set me up for irritability and suffering.

Life is easier and more enjoyable if we can open to what life is serving us.  If we can remain open and receptive, it can be amazing to see what life brings us.  Magic can happen!

I’ve had my moments of being a cup and allowing the Universe to flow toward me.  Several years ago, I took a trip to San Francisco for a yoga conference with a girlfriend.  It was the first solo trip I had taken without my kids, and I felt free and ecstatic.  Combine that with traveling with a dear girlfriend, ordering roomservice, doing yoga with great teachers, and exploring San Franciso…I was on cloud 9.  This high vibration of gratitude and joy was doubly strong as my girlfriend felt the same.  We marveled all weekend how things kept falling into place for us….getting into a sold out class, getting 2nd row tickets to a musical, getting great reservations at a beautiful restaurant.  We kept laughing all weekend about how lucky and charmed we were.  But I see now that because we were open, grateful, receptive, and joyful….our vibration kept attracting more good things and experiences. 

It’s helpful to ask yourself regularly…am I an open cup that is receptive to the flow of my life?  Or I am hard like an arrow, resisting my life?  Sometime just this awareness can shift us.

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