Thursday, February 21, 2013

Ride the Waves of Life

Change is the only constant.  I know you've heard that before, but how true it is! 

Today I'm taking Lulu (the puppy I've been fostering two and a half weeks now) back to the shelter.  She's scheduled to have her spay surgery tomorrow and then she'll be up for adoption.  Even though I don't want to keep her forever (well, sometimes I do), I'm still sad to let her go.  She's frustrated me many times since she's been here, so maybe that's why I feel a closer bond with her than I have with many of the other (easier) foster dogs I've had. 

It's not the letting go that's bothering me as much as not knowing what will happen in her life after I let her go. 

Ok, maybe that's part of "letting go."  Letting go of the control. 

I just want her to have the best life, find an awesome family, or person, who will play with her, love her, and treat her right.

"Change is the only constant." 

Back to that. 

Everything is in constant motion - coming, going, ending, beginning.  By observing this cyclical nature of life, it frees us. 

Life is a beautiful wave.  Constantly flowing, always moving. 

We need to let go and enjoy life more.  Ok... I need to let go and enjoy life more.  Maybe you do too. 

Life is under perfect control.  By the Universe.  By the Nature of Life and Love.  It's all in perfect harmony.  Let GO and let Life BE! 

I'm also reminded of a saying (I don't remember where it's from) about how we can't hold water.  If we stick our hand into a flowing river and clench it into a tight fist, trying to grab ahold of the water, it won't work.  Our hand will be empty.  But if we open our hand, and just let the water flow, we'll actually experience it much better. 

Life is much the same.  When we try to control life and grasp ahold of things so tightly that we don't allow for change, we're missing the best part.  We're missing the gentle flow of life.  We're not experiencing life as fully as we would if we release our hold, let go of our perceived control, and open ourselves up to the experience of it.     

Having Lulu here the past two and a half weeks has been great.  At least that's how I'll always remember it.  In reality, it's been up and down, full of challenges.  I actually wanted to take her back to the shelter and give up on fostering her about a week in, when she was still peeing and pooping in the house multiple times a day!  I was at the end of my rope.  Then I found more rope. 

I'm really glad I didn't take her back at the height of my frustration.  I'm glad I stuck it out.  I got to see her improve and learn and open up.  Of course, I also bonded with her more through that time, making it harder to give her up now.  But that's the way it goes. 

As my ex-boyfriend reminded me last night, even though I'm sad to take Lulu back, that'll open up the "foster spot" in my home, to take in another dog in need.  Help someone else who needs it. 

I know I'll foster more dogs after this.  Maybe not more puppies, but more dogs for sure. 

This is the wave of life.  Constantly moving, changing, flowing.  All we need to do is ride the wave.  Relax and enjoy it.  Open up our hands, our hearts, and our lives.  Let the joyous experiences rush in! 

And know that when some rough waves appear on the horizon, and then crash over us, they, too, will pass.  It's all part of the same ocean of experience.  The same ocean of life. 

This, naturally, reminds me of my surfing experience in Barbados this past October (2012).  I had never surfed in my life, and honestly, didn't have any desire to.  I'm not afraid of water, I'm afraid of what's IN the water.  But, I was in Barbados, and hours with amazing surfing instructors was part of the trip package, so I was going to do it.  At least the first day.

And I LOVED it!!  It probably helped that they took us to a calm area, with pretty shallow, crystal clear water.  I ended up surfing three or four days during that week. 

Just as in life, I'd be out in the ocean, with my surfboard (crazy thought, even as I type it, knowing that was my reality for a time), and now and then would see huge waves building ahead of me.  I not only learned how to surf the "good" waves, but learned how to take the rough ones. 

Such is life.  There will be incredibly awesome, fun waves and rough waves.  It's all part of the ocean.  It's all ONE.  The rough waves pass, and sometimes mellow out into decent waves.  And sometimes a wave will come along that looks like it'll be a great one, then it fizzles out.  Accept it as it is.   

The trick is staying in the ocean.  Riding out ALL the waves.  Letting some pass by, that "just don't feel right" and having the courage to go for others. 


Quotes of the Day:


 "A lot of people get impatient with the pace of change."  (James Levine)   http://www.wonderful-quotes.com/change-quotes.html


"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another." (Anatole France)   http://www.wonderful-quotes.com/change-quotes.html


"Change brings opportunity."  (Nido Qubein)   http://www.wonderful-quotes.com/change-quotes.html  

   

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