Today, as I walked through my neighborhood, I was scared and angry.
I was confronted with bloody condoms, drug dealers and users, trash, aggressive stray dogs, aggressive men, aggressive drivers, thumping bass, flooded and smelly culverts. As hyper-vigilance consumed me while walking past two men in my path, I was just pissed. I was pissed about being a woman and feeling fear.
I happened to be listening to a podcast on meditation, the mind, and consciousness. Both individual and universal consciousness.
How do I balance my desire for non-dualistic thinking and connection with a greater consciousness with the very practical desire for safety.
How to live in the world but not be constrained by it.
I did manage to shift my thinking a bit. Rather than anger and fear, I took a shot at gratitude.
Gratitude that:
- I am strong. I can move swiftly and with purpose.
- I have Buddy.
- I have a taser.
- I live in an area with some pockets of profound natural beauty.
- I have options.
When Buddy and I encountered strays, we turned and went in a different direction. We had, and continue to have a multitude of paths from which to choose. I can choose a path that leads to conflict and pain, or I can choose a path that circumvents such.
There’s a lesson there. For today, I am grateful for options. I have the freedom to step outside and choose my path. Choose my adventure. Choose my attitude.
May I choose wisely.
May we all.
Light and Love,
BL (and Buddy)
Big Laura 