Hello to all of you who take a moment to read my blog. It is a beautiful spring day where I am. The skies are clear and there is a slight breeze flowing through the window in my office. There is a mystery to the wind isn’t there?
I debated about what to call this particular blog today. I thought of calling it Flowing or Forcing but then with some brainstorming the name ‘Breeze’ came to mind. The wind or the breeze has a mind of it’s own and we can’t control where it comes from or where it goes.
If you look at the photo you will not be able to see what is moving the sailboats along. As a matter of fact, it can be very strong winds out on the ocean and sailors have to use the wind or the breeze to their advantage. It can certainly steer you in the wrong direction.
So many songs have been written about sailing as you may be aware. Some are very beautiful. Can you control the wind or even a breeze? As I said before, no we can’t but we can direct our sails, a metaphor for our minds in this writing. Your thoughts are like the wind in many cases and we can’t always control what comes up or at us. But we can choose to direct our sails, our minds so we don’t go down with the ship (sailboat).
Earlier I mentioned the comparison of flow versus forced. Most of my life until very recently I have tried to force things to happen, go my way. There is so much stress and strain when we feel we have to ‘make’ something happen. Yes we play a part in our own lives and there are things we do to bring things about, but here I want you to get a different perspective on the wind, the sailboat and how our lives can change when we let things flow.
Every year for the last few years I sit quietly and wait for a word to come to my mind that I set as a theme for the year. This year, 2023, I chose FLOW. I wasn’t sure why initially, but it has had a larger impact than any other word I’ve chosen previous years. Why? When we stop trying to control and force things, events, people to go our way and let it flow, life becomes easier.
This is one of the most significant keys to life. A number of years ago I was with a friend at a convention and we were roommates for the weekend. I am not sure what sparked her comment or what I was doing at the time, but she told me I was a perfectionist, which in essence comes down to trying to control everything so it would be ‘perfect’. Oops!! Caught red handed as they say.
My immediate reply was ‘I’m not a perfectionist’. There you go. Oh yes and it would be years later that I came to realize and admit I was. Now, I am a recovering perfectionist thankfully. It’s so much easier and less stressful to let the breeze blow and allow the good to come your way. It starts with being aware and honest with ourselves.
Yes the sailboat has someone at the helm guiding it but when the captain of the boat takes full advantage of the wind or breeze, the sailboat follows and after sailing some in my life, I can say you have to cooperate with it to make is more enjoyable.
To wrap this up, flow with life. Take time to enjoy it; breathe; flow. Open your heart to possibilities and let the breeze do what it does best. You’ll never capture it without putting up your sails. Now who wants to go sailing?
See you out there on the beautiful sea heading for new horizons!
