When it's not easy, it's still worth it

My blogs a year ago today talk about the sometimes-sad, but ultimately-hopeful journey, from Georgia, across the snowy Midwest, to the Rockies, and Boulder, Colorado. I wrote about the challenge, as well its blissful insights. That said, the first day that I only had to return the U-Haul, and the weather was sixty degrees and sunny- when I could enjoy my surroundings on Broadway, to some Beatles music-was definitely the most pleasant. You do get into a tranquil bubble when you're on the road with someone whose company you enjoy. Still, it was time to escape the stressors of careful, hitched driving. I had a secure, remote-work job at the time, without which I couldn't have made it. The new challenge has been accepting a way to secure our survival. I take sincere bursts of energy from guests, when they come to the window with smiles. Many times, if they didn't, they were just hungry, and I can point out they're about to have something yummy to eat, to settle those creature concerns. There are unwanted trespasses and influences. I find, often, much unpaid time is spent back at the job, examining some irritant for a way to ease it in the future. The other approach could be, simply concentrate on something we're singing: the messages those songs contain, the peace in the generation of music. There's lots of writing I think is worthy, my own, and more from others than I can read in a hundred lifetimes. Most of all, there's meditation. There's yoga postures, which I'm deeply fortunate to still be able to do. I found a group that explores mindful meditations together, meeting on Tuesday nights. But I won't always have that company, if they are indeed now meeting. (Much of what I want to Explore in Boulder was shut when I checked, before vaccinations.) My writing was more often than not a space where I could witness the good things in my life, the excitement of ideas and the potential of the future. Your writing space is one that could work against you, if you fill it with hostilities and despair. It can also be a place to explore your deeper connections.

This discursive method is the one where we direct our seemingly-unending flow of thoughts, with a will towards positivity. Yet, I have often told people about a goal that I personally find most elusive: the value of absolute silence in Thought. I used a method called 'Getting in the Gap' -proposed by Dr. Wayne Dyer- to set about opening those moments of silence. They tend to be quite small. If you reach it even for a few seconds, you deepen your reserves. You experience absolute Peace. I am not asking those who pray to abandon supplicating and meditating upon others with a heart towards their betterment. That's a wonderful intention-setter. But find out for yourself, what would it be like, to put a few minutes into breathing out, quietly? Existence, without complaints, without desires. Imagine what a few minutes of actual silence might give your body and mind! Imagine what hours that way would be like. A lot of what we experience can be traced to physiological elements. Perhaps the lateral dorsal prefrontal cortex needs less activity; your mind needs less critical words to keep it agitated. Perhaps your amygdala has been quite busy, fending off 'fight or flight' responses to fearsome inputs. Maybe your vagus nerve could use some stimulation, to activate your parasympathetic nervous system, cleanse it of the flood of hormones for a while. Maybe some soothing videos, as much as entertaining writing like Sunstrike and Company: the Infinite Pyramid, or I'd Go Anywhere With You, would be a nice thing to produce. Genuine, flexible people are not simply made, but make themselves. Be kind to one another. If understanding's not apparent, find a way to let it come to you. The joys of watching snowfall or peering at blue skies above mountains are valuable, but admittedly, transient. They do make good memories, though. Remember, often, to feed yourself with the love sent your way. When happiness seems out of reach, contentedness and stability might be right there, still, waiting for you, beneath your circumstances. Be Chill, Cease ill