Saturday, April 8, 2017

A Mindful Minute: Life Lessons



The Newsy Neighbour Magazine
April Issue 114
Article Provided By: Becky Stone 


Life. Full of lessons, right? Lessons that can hurt, sometimes a lot. Despite all our shoulda/coulda/woulda's, most of us understand or have experienced this: If we had never had that difficult time in our life, neither would we have the blessings that somehow are linked to its happening.

Think of a ship at sea, tossed by a sudden storm.

The captain of the ship sets sail on a course. Now, some captains know exactly where they plan to steer their ship. They have the plans in place and have the necessary crew and equipment to get to where they are going. There are also, however, those captains that hope they know where they are heading: they may keep their eye on the horizon but are not fully equipped for the arduous journey yet to come. And, of course, there are captains that have no idea their ship has left the harbour, let alone how to steer it.

No matter what type of captain we are when we set out - life happens, right? For better or worse, destination in mind or floating aimlessly, we are all on this journey called life.

Life, of course, never goes quite as planned or without any difficulties. No matter how prepared we are, there will always be lessons waiting for us on our journey. In the midst of a storm, every captain will do their very best to stay (1st) alive and (2nd) in control of the direction of their ship. We are not necessarily aware of what we are learning as we navigate, at least maybe not right away. We have no idea whether any good will come from this difficulty. We are forced to grow, learn, hurt, change, heal, close a door, take a new path... 

Everyone has weathered a storm. They are hard. They often hurt. They often change our perspective. But hear me when I say this: EVERY storm has blessings woven within it, like gold thread in a common fabric. What we learn and gain from life’s lessons can, and often do, outweigh the pain that we had to go through to learn.

In truth, it can take years of distance between the lesson and our ability to see the full expression of the blessings that have arisen. Blessings that could only enter our lives through the lessons we have learned, and the course we were set upon. I believe every one of us can see beauty that we now have in our life that directly correlates to the lessons and direction our storms have given us. Faith in that, as a Divine principle, is one that has given me comfort when I have felt frightened and hopelessly at the mercy of life.

If you are currently in the midst of a storm, please let these words give you hope: No matter how much it hurts right now, it will be ok. Your ship is one that can withstand the tempest. What you are currently experiencing will pass. And at the other end of the bad weather, the sun is still shining. Your rainbow can only be seen once you get out from under the clouds. Have faith that because of toughest parts of life there are golden threads being woven in the cloth, waiting to catch the sun and enrich the tapestry of the ongoing creation that is your life.

Namaste, Becky

PS. For many years I have been the owner/operator of Pranava Yoga in Strathmore. If it is news to you that our lovely little space has changed hands, please know that it is in the sure hands of another captain. If you have current passes or memberships, all will remain accessible to you in the new yoga studio Transcend Yoga. Please contact them directly for more information.

PPS. I am still teaching yoga! In fact, I am very much looking forward to the blessing of immersing myself in practice and sharing. I can be found at the new studio (same location as Pranava) or privately in my new pursuits in yoga, writing and business. And, of course, here as a continuing contributor of the Newsy Neighbour!

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