I didn’t have the best week last week. Things were going extremely well, when all of a sudden the week took a nasty turn. On came a head cold, that after a few days decided to migrate to my chest; then while making myself a cup of peppermint tea, I broke one of my favorite coffee cups; and the worst thing that happened was that I missed the bottom stair on our evil spiral staircase one night as I was coming down and did a pretty good body slam on our concrete floor. I spent the rest of the week babying my bruised thigh, hip, icing my twisted ankle and rubbing my sore wrists (guess I used both of them to break my fall.)
I had hesitated moving into this urban style loft because of the spiral staircase. Being a Feng Shui practitioner, I know that spiral staircases are considered to be like a corkscrew, drilling into your home, causing holes and pressure. This is extremely concerning when the staircase is in certain areas of the house, like health, relationships, or money. But because the loft had so many other desirable features, I figured I could live with the staircase and just apply Feng Shui cures where needed. Hmmm, not sure now if I need more cures, better lighting, or a one-level house.
Why am I telling you this? Because this is what life looks like. The good and the bad. The yin and the yang. They go together and we will always have our share of both. Nobody, and I mean nobody, gets to bypass the eventual slip and falls that life will throw at you.
Now if you haven't heard of or read, The Big Leap by Dr. Gay Hendricks, he has a very interesting take on the human tendency to unconsciously sabotage ourselves when things get going a little too good. He says that humans can only take so much good in one part of their life before they create problems in another area. We hit what he calls, our "upper limit." Whether or not this was the case for me getting sick and taking my first attempt at skydiving, I can't be sure, because I've always believed that in life there are both cherries and pits. I never expected to have only the perfect cherry pie. But it is an interesting concept and seems to be a recurring theme in most people's lives. The-Big-Leap-Conquer-Hidden-ebook
But luckily, when I reflect on the happenings of the past week, even the “bad” things that happened really weren’t that bad. My cold didn’t turn into pneumonia. I didn’t cut myself on the broken coffee cup. I didn’t hit my head, break a bone, or knock out a tooth when I played stunt woman for the night. All in all, these things were pretty benign.
When these types of things happen it's easy to put all of our focus on them. The whole world seems to be conspiring against us, determined to trip us up. But if I allow myself to look past these few mishaps and inconveniences, I will also be able to see some of the good things that happened during that time period as well. I made great progress on my writing. I’ve had a great response to my first workshop. Michael made me two incredible home cooked dinners while I was sick. The sunsets have been literally out of this world. I’m having a great time making wedding plans with my daughter. I attended a movie premier on the Midway Aircraft Carrier in San Diego and got to spend the night at a bayside hotel with a gorgeous view and one of the best mattresses I’ve ever slept on. And to top it off, my wonderful neighbor brought over a one lb. bag of a deliciously dark roast coffee from Jackson Hole. Yes, it seems there are always blessings to count. Now how sweet is that?