It always seems that the mundane can trigger the mystical. There you are, one bright and chilly November morning raking leaves and up comes thoughts you haven’t entertained in years, things believed to have been handled or resolved. But somehow the past always seems to have a surprise for us, it cycles back around to show us something we’d missed, something that still wants to be seen. This is a deep secret about connections that want to be made and the lessons they have to teach. I believe this also happens while chopping vegetables, taking a hot bath, or a long hike, just a few examples among many that regularly fill our days. What do they all have in common? The ability to still the mind. When the mind is still an opportunity is created for a long forgotten idea or event to bubble to the surface and we are asked to revisit them and see what still needs to be said.

So there we are surrounded by warm water, steam coming up from the frying pan, or knee deep in leaves and it hits us. The joyous moments, painful moments, moments that changed our lives forever, and satisfaction or regret about the things done or left undone. This is a sacred juncture where we can choose. We could continue the cycle we’re in and mourn, gloat, beat ourselves up, bury it deep, or we could stand right where we are and let it all go.

Letting go isn’t necessarily about forgetting but it is most certainly about forgiving. And somehow forgiving ourselves seems the hardest task of all. Perhaps that’s why we get so many chances to heal the past and our complicated feelings surrounding it. We may not be able to change the outcome or mend the damage but we can sincerely forgive and move forward into what comes next. We choose to stand tall with our feet rooted firmly in love and compassion for our self and for others. From here we begin again.

We continue cooking, bathing, or raking but at the same time we also let this sudden shift enter our lives and subtly weave itself into the fabric of our daily living. This is the shifting of the mind, body, and soul readying itself for what is to come. Brace yourself, it is almost never what you think. But if we give ourselves more moments for our minds to slip into stillness we can be sure something will reveal itself sooner rather than later.

Here’s to living with the mystery and making peace with the past.

kb