This red rose above is blooming from the bush I planted to honor my Grandmother, Granny Gould, when she died three years ago. Each year since, as early as mid May, red roses like this greet me as I walk up the sidewalk from my carpark to my front door. Their greeting continues through to late September or October where I live. Granny was 95 when she died. She loved roses. Granny was firm, loving, kind, and beautiful. Like this rose. She stood where she was. She did what she could from where she stood. Like this rose.
This morning, I’m thinking about where I stand. I notice in me the way that I often have the feeling of chasing or of needing to chase. Perhaps chasing something outside of myself. Perhaps not trusting that what is within myself is ample and enough. I’m grateful for the conversation I had yesterday with friend, Chris Smyth, in which we wondered together about how this chasing, this do more / be more, has particular intensity in the psychology of men. Both for good and for not so good.
From all of that comes these words this morning.
Freed From The Need To Chase
What if
we were to free ourselves
from the need to chase?
Chasing success.
Chasing protection from failure.
Chasing some other person’s dreams.
Chasing some other version of our selves.
Chasing an unreachable comfort.
Chasing an illusionary security.
What if
this very moment
were completely full
and enough
just as it is?
What if
we were to just settle
into this moment,
this now,
this place that drops
the incessant need for more.
What if
we were completely enough,
just as we are,
in this ever dynamic
making
of life?
