Poor Planning and Road Blocks
The other day, a friend sent me a photo of a semi stuck on a city street, with lots of cars lined up behind it because road construction made it near-impossible (not completely, as it did eventually get cleared) to turn because of construction and lack of signage. She suggested it could be a topic for a future blog. It seems, today is the day!
The above situation reminded me of an incident that happened in Santa Barbara in the early 1990’s when we lived there. A group of us were biking from UCSB campus to downtown Santa Barbara on a trail that led us through a neighborhood cul-de-sac. This particular day there was a big truck, a dump truck as I recall, trying to turn around and get out of the cul-de-sac. Unfortunately, he had a human roadblock, in the form of a petite and strong-willed woman, who was standing there yelling at him to NOT use her driveway, which would’ve made quick work of his turning around. Her insistence that he not cross her imaginary barrier created an energy of extreme tension, and as I rode by, I yelled, “Lighten up, Ma’am!” I’ll never know how it was resolved, but by the time we rode back through that evening, it was cleared. My family still teases me for yelling “lighten up, Ma’am!” Maybe it worked? Maybe it caused her to double-down, much like being told to “Calm down” can actually increase tension and stress.
Life is like this, though, right? Road blocks and people working against us and lack of signage (or not seeing signs) all seeming to work against us. Some days, weeks, even years seem to have more road blocks than others. “Why is this happening to me?” is the rally cry of those who get stopped in their tracks, whether the road block seems to affect them directly or indirectly.
My wonderful habit of listening to podcasts introduced me to a man who has been a Spiritual Leader for years, Matt Kahn. I was inspired by the podcast to get several of his books, and am currently learning from “whatever arises, LOVE that”. Oh my goodness, it’s a HUGE concept, and I’m afraid that whatever I say won’t do it the justice it deserves, so I will try, and I will also highly recommend you read or listen to the book or the workshop. Oversimplifying it, when a roadblock or someone’s poor planning or a pebble in your shoe slows you down, or makes you stop…LOVE IT. When something delightful or celebratory happens, LOVE IT! When things are neither good, nor bad, but decidedly neutral, LOVE IT. Shakespeare had a quote: “Things are neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so.” What if we take these challenges that come up, and instead of being triggered into frustration, anger, petulance, we see them as something to love; something to send love to? If we don’t have the love within us, we can definitely channel Divine Love and send it out through our hearts. But, a couple of the things that Matt Kahn has mentioned (so far) is that loving ourselves is key. Breathing deeply, so as to open our heart chakra makes loving ourselves, and therefore loving others, or loving situations easier. And, if there’s shadow work we need to deal with, stop putting it off. Like I said - this is way over simplified, and I recommend looking into his work, but DO THE WORK.
When we get to the point where we can see that not being able to find our keys on our way out the door, making us late for work or our appointment is part of something bigger than just us, we can find some peace within our own lives for that moment. Perhaps we are being delayed because there will be a car accident that we are not meant to be a part of. Perhaps there is a chance-meeting with someone that won’t happen if our timing isn’t delayed. We have no idea. Angels cannot pick up the phone and call or text us to say, “Hey, Margaret, we have something important for you to do. Be at this juncture at this time!” Even “tragic” happenings can be part of this Divine Timing…and it doesn’t mean we have a Creator- Mother-Father God who doesn’t care. It means that there’s a LOT of karma that needs balancing and some free-will at play, and whatever happens, will be used for the Greatest and Highest Good…if you let it. Forty years after the fact, I can see that my dad’s death - at the age of 39, with a wife and eight young children at home was for the greater good. It took a LOT of time and healing to get to this perspective, but I wouldn’t change a thing now. The divinity in it is apparent. Now…if I could come to the same sense of peace when I bruise my shin…or someone double-crosses me! I’m a work in progress…
Peace and Blessings to you, My Friend! Thank you for reading this, for following, sharing, recommending me. May karmic blessings come back to you ten-fold!
Margaret Rose
651.442.3732
peacefulsoulutions@gmail.com
