I certainly do love the life I have right now and I am constantly grateful for it. But... (did you see the 'but' coming'?!)... I'm in a transitional stage that I call "semi-retirement". In this enjoyably more spacious place a little background niggle keeps surfacing. It says: "Shouldn't you be doing something more purposeful, more useful, more productive with the extra time you have?" I can answer that voice with all sorts of sensible and worthy answers - the sort of answers I'd offer someone else! Yet somehow that niggle goes right on niggling.
So when this morning I came across notification of a Spirituality and Practice course based on the book Dropping the Struggle: Seven Ways to Love the Life You Have I thought I might sign up. However, I quickly found I could get a Kindle copy of the book for a fraction of the cost of the course so... admission here! ... I bought the book with "one click" and have already read the intro and the chapter I was most drawn to (about meaning and purpose). It is spot on and I'll quote a bit soon. But the main reason I'm blogging about this is that deep down I really do "trust the process" of life as it unfolds and I'm in awe of the series of serendipitous events in the few hours of this day so far. The niggling question... the email with the name of the course... the ease of getting a Kindle copy of the book... the spacious time (!) to read immediately... It is a rapid reminder of one of the key themes of the book: "Live into each present moment exactly as it is and what needs to happen will happen." Those are my words but here are a couple of quotes from the chapter on meaning and purpose:
"If you are fully immersed in the present, aware of life streaming through your body, then life is so meaningful that the question of meaning and purpose doesn't even arise. ... This is what the sage Krishnamurti meant when he said: 'This is my secret: I don't mind what happens.'" Roger Housden
So back to enjoyment and gratitude... today I am grateful for the unexpected stepping stones that responded to my "niggle" so fast that it's not yet 3pm!
