The Flooded Basement and the Sky

What a week.

I finished the triathlon a little over a week ago, visited a family member who I learned was in failing health, dealt with the family drama and stress surrounding this, experienced failing health myself via schedule-destroying levels of fatigue, cared for our dog after his surgery, had a basement room flood, the washer finally break beyond repair, email inbox climb back over 200 emails due to the fatigue, and a son who starts school tomorrow.

I sit here, dripping in sweat after attempting to run on the treadmill and having to do a walk/jog for just 2 miles.

I have a living room and a family room literally covered in "stuff" after asking the kids to bring everything out of their rooms so we could clean their carpets and attempt to declutter.  It has resulted - at least for now - in not being able to walk around our house without stepping on something that makes noise or precariously rolls underneath our feet.

Why in the world would I share this?

Because it is.

Because I can also share with you how, in the midst of all of this, the kids and I retreated to a park and just watched the open sky.  I found my breath in that sky.

I can share how my husband has been tremendously supportive through it all, how the kids truly have been well-behaved, how our house is still standing. 

How we are unbelievably blessed because we won't go hungry because of any of this, because I have offline and online friends and family who almost bring me to tears through their advice and support, because of the love I feel.

Often I speak of beautiful lessons and stories, moments in my life where I've found peace.  For all of us, these moments are not all-encompassing -- nor should they be.

Health comes and goes as does life.  Washers break, basements flood, and life goes on.  

If we focus only on getting or returning to those peaceful moments under the sky, we deny ourselves the richness of life....of living.  In those tears that fall for my ailing loved one, I find poetic insights into her life, mine,....ours.  

There is such peace to be found when we are honest about life -

that we are human, that everything is impermanent,

that everything and everyone holds such beauty.

Today I wish for you - for us - to be with what is.  To smile, no matter how much it hurts.  This is life, and we are blessed to be living it.

Namaste.