"You Can't Always Get What You Want...."

     

       So the power went out today, not once but twice. After hours of being without power, I re-visited a very important lesson. The Rolling Stones sang about this a long time ago, but the lesson still remains the same.
      "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find you get what you need."
       Since this is one of my days where I don't go into my "brick and mortar" job, I had a long list of things I needed to do around the house and errands about town. I had the first load of laundry swooshing  in the washer and  the dishes clanking in the dishwasher. I was doing some research on a post I want to share with you guys about the importance of proper breath (I am OCD about research. lol.). I was just about ready to gather my things to treat my car to an oil-change and pick up some odds and ends at a few places. "Oh, how efficient I am being this fabulous Monday!" Then I heard the dreaded, deep sound of the transformer exploding. "THWAAAMP".  My computer went black, the laundry stopped swooshing and the dishes stopped clanking. I felt a vague feeling of frustration start bubbling up through me. My daughter tried to cajole my darkening spirit back to light. She made me giggle.
        I reasoned with myself. "Okay. Well, I will just go take my shower and go do my deeds about town." We have well-water triggered by an electronic well. The shower, and any water, wasn't happening. Fine. I decided to at least get the errands done. I then realized my car was parked under the release cord for the electric-powered garage door which I am too "vertically challenged" to reach. I was trapped. The vague frustration I first felt was now roiling into a full-on anger boil, complete with grumpy thoughts and very "colorful" expletives. I pounded back into my room and glared at the black screen. After taking a very deep sigh, it hit me.
      The whirring from the computer fan was stopped. The swooshing and the clanking was also gone. There was absolutely no sound; complete silence. I turned inward. I noticed my breath and heart working way too fast....over nothing. I felt my core muscles and jaw muscles clenched....over nothing. How long had I been like this? Was it just the frustration of elements out of my control? Or was it going on before that? I felt the soft, warm nuzzle of my dog against my leg. I looked down into his wise, big, brown eyes. He held his ball in his mouth and wagged his tail. Out we went to play ball.
       No sooner were we outside when Racecar stopped to fall into the grass and squirm around like enjoying a massage from Ma Earth, herself. After wriggling around with his tongue out, he got up, shook off, then challenged me to chase him and play. He wanted to play, badly. After we got done, I realized, so did I.

       As he darted around the yard, I was drawn to seeing the butterflies slurping nectar off fall-flowering plants and bees in the trees. The rain-cooled, autumn air caressed my face. We played, and pranced and sat in silence watching the wondrous world around us just "be". When we came back in, my breathing was soft and even. My heart was calm and full. My mind was still. Suddenly the act of doing, doing, doing was replaced with just "Being".  Thank you power failure. Thank you my dear, Soul-dog, Racecar. Thank you Silence for showing the importance of replenishing one's self  by existing in the present moment...for a moment, at least. :)

      Have you been neglecting your Soul-self by constantly doing and doing and doing without taking time to just "Be"? How fast is your breath and heart-rate on a seemingly "normal" day? How often is your body clenched in stress, unbeknownst to your conscious self?  Feel free to share your story here.

Bright Blessings...and Peace. :)