Today was cloudlessly perfect, crystal blue skies seemed to stretch endlessly. And this day lulled me with its pristine beauty.
If only for a few minutes, I escaped my standard Sunday stress and simply enjoyed the sneak peek of spring. It was in those relaxing moments, I remembered that “winter” (well, “sort of winter”–we don’t really have “real winter” here) would soon be tempered by the mild breeze of spring which would eventually settle into the sweltering days of summer. I remembered that no matter how long these cold, damp months linger, eventually it will be festival season in Southeast Louisiana which will be followed by the sno-balls and freedoms of summer.
This pause from my norm offered the clarity that the roadblocks and worry of today are as temporary as the seasons. But also fleeting are all of the good things of my life and my life itself. And in this brief flicker of time, I choose where and how I spend my focus. I choose whether I will waste it on negativity, stress and drama or if, instead, I will turn my gaze upon goodness, uplift and making a difference. I choose whether I will seek the best in the humans of this world or whether I will close myself off from understanding that different doesn’t mean wrong. I can choose to instead know that different grants an opportunity to grow in understanding, to learn, to engage. I choose whether I will become an extension of kindness and love or if I will become voice of anger and anguish. I choose whether I will recognize my smallness in a world with problems bigger than mine or if I will give into the selfish desire to always center myself.
I choose.
That is an empowering sentence…a charge and responsibility that I don’t take lightly.
When I was sick, I couldn’t just choose to be well, but I could choose how I was going to live each day. I wasn’t always successful. Some days I was so afraid that even holding conversation felt impossible. Some days I couldn’t see straight and felt at the bottom of the ocean yet still sinking. The hardest times dim the light that shines on just how many choices we have. But I always knew it was in my power to dig deep and flip the script.
Now that the days of spinning and fluctuating hearing are mostly behind me, I don’t have such a powerful force to fight against…just myself. Being mindful that the choice of how I take on each day is critical in maintaining perspective, balance and joy. Grateful for a moment be drawn into this realization on this gorgeous day.
(Day 24–note to self: in next year’s King Cake writing challenge–taking off Wednesdays and one day of the weekend is advisable!!)
Sometimes You Just Need A Poem 