Face in the Floor

Watch this before reading:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4

This morning I found a face in my floor. I have lived in this space for 18 months now and never realized there was a face in my floor. What else do I miss every day? Where could I be more observant?

I struggle every day with worry that I am letting life pass me by. I think about how I could have done better and how I might have made a difference. This is why I like to work with aging adults because as I age I realize how much I slow down and enjoy life. Although I struggle it is a good struggle. Last night when I dropped off my sleeping grandson we went from the quiet slumber of my car into an active environment of rushing and excitement. Hunter didn't have a chance to awaken before he was roused out of his carseat, from a warm car to a cold evening to a different carseat. That is life today. Shuffling children to accommodate the adult choices of busy life. How many grow up be taught to miss the face in the floor?

In a healthy spiritual journey I feel the most important thing is to let go and let happen. Let life unfold before you and walk into the open doors and look out the open windows. In my life, I always tried to dictate and control how things would go. So I was constantly running ahead of life in order to ensure I knew which door was going to open because I would drive my life that way. What a disaster.

In traditional language one might say "let go and let God" but I find then that tells me the traditional concept of a supernatural being in charge and moving us like chess pieces will take over where I do not control. Another traditional thought may stray to the concept that when we try to control we do not trust in God's plan; another way I hear that there is something or someone who is like a puppeteer.

Today may you rest in your own life and see the face in the floor. Today may you let each moment unfold before you and then engage with action in your own life. Today may you realize that stress is only fear, fear of the unknown, when the unknown is the safest place to land. Allowing life to happen does not mean simply throwing up your hands and quitting, it means watching for the face in the floor and reading the details and experiences in order to make good decisions to go forward.

My favourite story from Chicken Soup is The Worry Tree. It is a story about a man who touches a tree every night before he enters his home. The neighbour asked "why?" The man said it is his worry tree. He hangs his worries on the tree and picks them up the next morning. He noted to the neighbour, "it is interesting how when I come out in the morning there are always less than I left there the night before."

Have a wonderful day.