The Power of Surprise: An Invitation to Creating
Last Friday, I was surprised at the Farmers Market. On Tuesday, I was surprised by my car. Today, well … who knows? … but I bet there’s a surprise on its way.
It occurs to me that anytime I am surprised, I have the opportunity to engage and embody the miracle of change.
Sometimes it’s a change of knowing … I had no idea that such a being as this artichoke flower even existed. Sometimes it’s a change of plans … I had no idea that I’d be walking to City Hall to drop-off my ballot because I had a very flat tire. Every time, I have the opportunity to create a new experience of myself and a freshened perspective of the world.
These shifts create opportunities for me to be ever-more conscious of how I am living, relating, and being.
“The deepest secret is that life is not a process of discovery, but a process of creation. You are not discovering yourself, but creating yourself anew.”
- Neale Donald Walsh
Expanded thought: I want my changing to mirror how Universe evolves – as an arc of infinite potential of ever-increasing complexity and connection.
So, to bring it back home …
Having the artichoke flower now sitting beside me all day gives me the chance to get to know her (and myself) better. I continue to be amazed by her contrasting colors of purples and greens, her combination of sharp and soft, and her subtle aroma that evokes the taste of artichoke in the back of my mouth.
I am letting myself be changed by her.
Going through the long series of changes-of-plans on Tuesday morning as I returned my car to drive-ability, gave me the opportunity to practice flow. I surprised myself as I moved through the multiple unexpected twists and turns with the grace of water moving around rocks (which feels like a massage), rather than the sequential resistance of a rubber ball bouncing down a rocky hill (which can cause bruising). I found myself enjoying my unplanned walk to town and feeling the experience of being helped by my neighbor, two different AAA guys, and the people at the tire shop, not to mention the friendly “Good morning,” from the person at the bank.
I let myself be changed by noticing how there is a matrix of support available to us as we move through this adventure called Life. This support includes not only human beings, but also more-than-human beings, like the roses and birdsong that beautified my walk to town.
As the frequency and intensity of change and the reality of uncertainty continue to increase in this time of transformation, I find myself asking more questions, listening deeper, and appreciating awareness and kindness at a whole new level.
It makes sense to me to let myself be transformed in a time of global transformation. My intention is to support that transformation moving in the direction of more opening of my heart and mind, rather than more contraction and shutting down.
Step One seems to be acceptance of change and uncertainty as how Universe and Life roll. To make it more personal, this acceptance is the beginning of healing, growth and transformation.
“You are a living expression of Creation.”
- Resmaa Menakem
When we are being creative (a.k.a., enlivened), we are opening to untapped possibility, new expression, and infinite potential.
As a living expression of Creation, what responses arise to these questions?
What would it be to shift from the delusion of having “control” to having “a sense of influence, agency, and responsibility?”
How can we see ourselves and each other differently?
What is the new relationship with Earth and all her beings that we can cultivate?
We can even discover the answer to the riddle: How is an artichoke flower like a flat tire? We can even sense ourselves as part of the Universe current of evolution. We can even live a dream of John O’Donohue ...
"I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding."
- John O'Donohue
Sometimes we get to float, and sometimes we need to paddle (a.k.a., practice) like our hair’s on fire. It’s all part of the same river.
During July, we at MBMS offer opportunities to be surprised …
By your guides and possibilities through Journey Meditation;
By your potential for deepening intimacy through Fierce Compassion;
By your befriending more of yourself through Nourish and Flourish;
By your experience of the unveiling of the origins of the Universe through Contemplative Cosmology: Captured by Beauty.
We invite you to take a dip into this pool, and join us for these surprises, along with ones that we can’t even imagine.
Marianne
