Look Further Down the Road
Years ago, Mike and I were on a road trip and it was my turn to drive. While speeding along on US95, my sweet husband noticed that whenever I was passing or being passed by another vehicle -- especially when it was a truck -- my whole body would tense up. I would hold my breath and grip the wheel like my life depended on it. He gently suggested that if I just looked further down the road, I might relax a bit. (And then, he could, too!)
I tried and it worked. I hadn't realized how tense my eyes were as I frantically tried to manage the proximity of all the other speeding objects around me.
"Look further down the road."
This invitation is much like the yoga instruction to soften and widen our gaze when holding a pose. What happens when we do that? Again, when the eyes relax, the rest of the body does, too. Feeling fear or anxiety (whether it's based on what might happen or what is happening), we tighten automatically. Then later on, we notice the aching and fatigue that comes from that unconscious gripping -- the pulling up and in and away -- that our muscles have been doing all day.
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The picture above is called "Cloud-Watching" by Cynthia Decker and when I saw it on a greeting card, I loved it right away. Because I could imagine myself there. Just sitting with a child and a (safe) bear on soft grass under a big sky . . . and feeling the warm companionship of a friend. Or two.
So, here's a proposition for you: If it feels right, take a moment right now -- and join us up there on that hilltop. Let's gaze up at the sky together, deepen our breathing, and know this -- that as small as we are, we are an essential part of it all. A loved and loving piece of the puzzle that is Creation.
And in this moment, as our bodies settle down and rest upon the "quiet, wild earth," we can let peace in. And knowing that everyone else deserves to feel this too, we can envision a time when everyone does.
Being at peace doesn't mean that we stop asking the big questions like: How is peace possible? How can I help in that effort? But it does allow us to trust that if we stay open, the answers will come.
If not now, then maybe just a little further down the road.
With love,
Elizabeth