Some of us grew accustom to holding on tight to life's lifesavers in order to stay afloat through seas of disruption and struggle. At one point or at many points, we lived amongst chaos, so we trained ourselves in safe routines to control the cacophony around us. Likely, those lifesavers did take us to a safer place to live--a place where we could be ourselves in healthy, happy ways. Yet, we grew so accustom to hanging on tight to the control lifesavers brought us, that we forget to loosen the grasp and let go when they are no longer needed.
I thought about that this morning as I coached myself to let go of a situation that I have little control over, and a situation that I don't have to have control over. Then I thought more about the many people and activities in life that I can mostly let go of now at this new place that I've arrived at. It's a place of peace and love and care--a good place to be, and a place where I don't have to grip the lifesavers as tightly as I did in the past.
It's interesting to think about when you started gripping lifesavers. I actually remember the exact place and time when I arrived at that notion--I was about 12 years old, standing in front of a white church in my neighborhood not far from the railroad tracks. I gave myself a good coaching lesson about hanging on to lifesavers via outlook and strategy. It was an important turning point in my life where I essentially began a pattern of positive thinking to move through a troubling situation, an important revelation. That was my first, great lifesaver--an attitude change that I honed to be stronger, better, and more capable. Revelations like that typically arrive with some divine intervention as well--there is a longing, hoping, reaching, and all of a sudden the revelation appears. It is a truly wondrous event as many know.
Other lifesavers in my life often arrived by way of others. There was the time my mother's friend affirmed an experience I had--that affirmation was a lifesaver. And another time when I got a call from a friend on the West Coast at 5 a.m. East Coast time, and a moment when a friend and I literally drew a line in the sand. It is amazing to think of lifesaver moments--those turning points in your life that arrived and made all the difference in your journey.
Like beautiful jewels on a favorite necklace, remembering these moments brighten your day, give you strength, and warm you all over. As I walk through time, these moments gleam:
- Pilgrim Ave porch steps on a summer morning
- Tasting lobster the first time
- Sunlit bedtimes
- Bright yellow hair
- Brownie dress splashed with yellow paint
- Friends at the pignut tree
- Baby dreams
- First kiss
- First big breakup
- Sharing M&M's
- White walls
- Italian dinner