For your consideration……
We all have them, those life defining moments. Perhaps in the light of day or with age, our perception changes them….or not. But in the moment they are what they are. Life defining moments are either incredibly happy or incredibly sad. In either case we are reminded that they are actually a culmination of many moments. They are much more complex than they seem at the time. This probably doesn’t matter if it is a joyous moment. But it definitely matters if it is a sad moment. And that is what our message today addresses.
Many of us have a tendency to withdraw and hyper-focus on the sad defining moment. We want to hide like a wounded animal. We hoard all of the sadness of that moment. But that defining moment was like every other moment. It was brief and it is over. When we dissect it, we realize all of the moments that made that one possible.
Perhaps we lost a loved one. Their life and our relationship was not made up of that one moment in passing. No, it was made up of love, joy and a life of ups and downs together. The defining moment of death does not take any of that away. It always exists. The defining moment was them moving from one side of the veil to the other. That void we feel is shock. But if we are open, we realize how fertile that void is for new love, opportunities and big life changes both with our passed loved one and others.
Or perhaps our sad defining moment is the end of a relationship i.e.; friend, partner, job, big move. Again, when we break the defining moment up all of those moments it contained….the good, the bad and the ugly…..still exist. The defining moment is just the period at the end that announces the end of the old and the beginning of new.
In every void we have an opportunity. We can choose to withdraw and hide like a wounded animal. Or we can choose to see our void as an opportunity. We can unleash our imagination and see it as a blank canvas ready for those things we did not have room for before…..ready for those things we wanted to try but held back on……ready for growth.
When we have those sad defining moments, we are entitled to “have our moment”. But perpetuating it by wallowing in it does not serve us well. Minimize it by truthfully dissecting it and seeing it for what it really is. Chunking it out will make it less overwhelming. Then we can pick ourselves up and move on. No one says it has to a big step….just a step. We simply need to take a step out of the box we are hiding in.
That is the HOPE. And so it is.
Bit by bit, piece by piece, HOPE by HOPE action steps anyone can take……
-Meditate/pray…..tap into your Guidance.
-Drink lots of water.
-Get outdoors and take in at least 10 deep breaths.
-Chill out tonight.
What made me smile yesterday……
-Many tasks done.
-Ahhh, Jody is home. It feels so right.
-Catching up with my friend Sue and sister-in-law Cathy. None of us are short on plans that’s for sure.
-Alex…..sewing difficulties…..offering solutions over the phone is hard but give me and “A” for effort. And her an “A” for attempting.
-Dinner out and friends in…fun.
Love, Blessings and Gratitude,
Rev. Chris
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