Taking it in Turns...
....and the Wisdom of the Trees.
As someone who identifies as British, I know a thing or two about taking it in turns. Us Brits are famous for queueing and can get quite upset if someone tries to push in, not wait their turn, or doesn’t stick to the rules. Do you remember the 10 items or less checkout aisles in supermarkets? (Do they even still exist?) Well heaven help you if you tried to slip through with an 11th item of ham hidden underneath your teabags! Everyone and I mean EVERYONE in the queue would notice that ham. Being British though, no one would actually say anything of course, but there would definitely be some sharp intakes of breath, followed by icy cold ‘death’ stares heading your way.
If looks could kill….
Anyway I digress, I have been thinking a lot lately about the necessary turns we must take over our life’s journey. How, if we are lucky enough to stay here a while, we will all have our turn to experience the different phases of life, from childhood all the way through to Ancestorhood.
Wrapped up within each of the adult stages of our lives, are the inevitable human experiences, including betrayal, heartbreak, loss, grief, trauma, trauma recovery, illness, addiction, falling in and out of love, joy, great sex, bad sex and no sex. I could go on, but you get the picture. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we all share many (not all) of the same or similar experiences throughout our lifetime. The details may differ, but the outcomes are pretty much the same. Many of the so-called ‘negative’ experiences will ultimately lead us into healing (if we let them), and to eventually becoming the person we were always meant to be. A Spiritual Awakening.
Life Surfing
I often compare life to surfing (even though I’ve never surfed), but I do love a metaphor and surfing offers a great one for taking it in turns. Sometimes we are the ones on the surface of the water, gliding along on our ‘life boards’, at one with the water/world, and in complete flow with life itself. We find ourselves easing into the forward and side by side motions, enjoying the rhythms and incredible views along the way. If we still retain a sense of innocence and some might say, naivety, we will feel at this point that we’ve nailed this whole life stuff! (Ahem.)
Until.…