Conscious Community

by Carrie Chesney

It’s 4 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon ... what are you thinking about? Are you worrying about your family and what you might be cooking for dinner tonight? Are you stressing out over how you’re ever going to make the next deadline for a big project? Or maybe, you’re desperately waiting to get out and get on with that hot date you’ve got lined up for tonight. I’m sure that we agree that these are all minor events that bring some measure of stress or relief to our lives, but they certainly can add up, can’t they?

We get burdened and bludgeoned to death by the little things. It’s like an old man with no teeth chewing on you until he gets to the bone. The little fears and insecurities become big ones, and we worry and analyze and raise our blood pressure. We become imprisoned by the transient things in life. Let’s face it; most things in life are transient. Most people, relationships, money, and security come and go with or without warning. For some reason, though we are all perfectly aware of this, we clutch to it and act like these things will never come to us again in our lifetimes.

Yet, we obviously had the power to obtain a job, a car, a spouse, a family, so we obviously have the power to obtain them again. People, for some reason, have this fatalistic attitude about everything, it seems. Everything is a one-time shot, and if you miss it, well, it’ll never come for you again. What’s often not realized is that the important things do come to you again, as they come to everyone time and time again whether or not they are paying attention.

I used to have the same kind of attitude about things ... I was never going to find the right guy. I’ll never find another great set of friends. If I screw this up, I’ll never get another chance. What I didn’t realize was that sometimes being farsighted is what can make you happy now, even if the current circumstances don’t allow.

I took a vacation to Canada this summer and, through some of my parents’ friends, got a chance to stay on an island on the Georgian Bay. Looking at it, it really doesn’t look like much. The house is ancient, sitting basically on a rock covered here and there with patches of trees. Although the house was built back in the 1920s, I soon found that it was a nice place with tons of history that gave it character and fun stories. Plus, it was situated so that the western window framed the sunset reflecting on the water perfectly. It was gorgeous.

For some reason, even during the first part of the summer, when I was doing little more than going to a summer class, I was still stressed. I was still wondering about this big mystery called “my future.” Then I went to the island where none of it truly mattered. In truth, I thought that I would just have thought about things more, but instead, through the timelessness of this island, I realized that in the end it all didn’t matter. My fears would just fall away, and what would be left? The truth, which was that what would happen would happen, no matter how much I agonized over it. This little rock of an island would still be here, just as I will still be here doing what I will with whatever comes, little worries and all. The worries just hinder what I choose to do. They eat at me and make me weaker. They dim my light just a little bit so that I fear what’s before me rather than considering what needs to be done now to have a positive outcome.

We all do this... We let the little things get in the way of what we know to be true. We intimidate ourselves into believing that everything is a one-time shot. We epitomize the saying: “There’s nothing to fear but fear itself.” Yet, at the same time we must learn to live with the saying: “You have to let it go to let it grow.”

Linda Goodman was always talking about the Eternal Now, and I think that maybe this is what she meant. If you live in the now, you can’t worry about the later. You don’t have phobias or worries about what might happen or what you might not be able to do. You’ll just be here now, doing what you can with what you have. This same idea has been stated by many different people in many different ways, but it can never be said enough. 

So, I hope that all of you take a little time to stop for a minute when your fears get out of control. Stop and look at what you have now, and what you can do with it at this moment. If you can’t do anything, if it’s not even your decision and is instead someone else’s responsibility, don’t worry. What will come will come; just make sure that you’re prepared for whatever it may be. Life throws misfortunes as surely as is throws opportunities at you. It’s too bad that many people are always just looking out for the misfortunes.

* White Light and Love *

I don’t have a full White Light and Love section this month. However, I do ask that you all send extra white light and love to Tish, who is living in Guatemala during the riots that are going on there.

If any of you have any comments, questions, white light or birthday submissions, etc., please either PM me (enchantress299) or you can send an e-mail to metamorphosis@consciousevolution.com. I hope everyone has a great month!