This rainy, moody day – sky saturated, gray – reflects grim Pandemic news. Cricket’s mind dwells on family in faraway places, members who work on the frontlines, members in the trucking industry. Cricket is fearful for them and her heart sinks. She feels helpless. Her mind shifts over to those out there, the most vulnerable – those with addiction issues, the homeless, those that have lost their jobs. Many may fall through the cracks – her heart sinks further. Cricket takes in a deep breath. Be present, here and now … Breathe in 2, 3, 4. Breathe out 2, 3, 4… and the snow is starting to fly.
She steps up on the bluff, walking the worn path that twists and turns around a yucca, a sandstone boulder, and crests out onto bedrock. She loves this small trek and realizes that it’s an important ritual for her. Solid rock. A foundation. Open space. Fresh air. A whispering breeze wafts around her ears and in a very soft voice, provides a message. She stalls for a moment, closes her eyes to take in the message, the counterbalance to her anxiety: Live right here, right now, it says… The present moment. Right here, right now is all we’ve got. The present moment is Life. We don’t know what happens after this moment.
Embracing the message, her heart uplifted she carries on and remembers, a Roman Emperor who once said,
What stands in the way becomes the way – Marcus Aurelieus
Cricket concedes that it is her anxiety that stands in the way. The anxiety that makes her feel hopeless, unempowered, stymied. Cricket asks, How is it that my anxiety can become the way? Slowly, she begins to understand that the very anxiety that she dreads, can jolt her into the present moment. To be present. Suddenly, Cricket says out loud –
I can do this, I know the way. My anxiety is a prompt to be in the present moment.
Gratefully, Cricket heads up the path, her heart, now uplifted.
She takes in another deep breath and remembers to offer up prayer for all those near and dear, those far away, all those struggling.
She gives thanks for the clarity and of course for this present moment.
