I almost didn't write this letter.
Not because I didn't want to but because I'd become completely absorbed in everything that came before it.
Over the past few weeks I've been busy in the background, creating, building, learning till I thought my brain might explode and loving it all at the same time. But, the things I'm working on in the background are visible to no one. I try to explain what I'm doing to people I love and for them it's like I'm speaking another language. This week it all changed, like a light switched on. All the work in the background had a purpose and I saw it working, real time and found myself ridiculously excited.
Looking back now, I almost laughed at myself. I had become so completely immersed in what I was building that I'd nearly forgotten why I was doing it.
This reminded me how easy it is to lose perspective.
We become so close to something that its fills our entire field of vision. Our minds are extraordinary at gathering evidence that whatever we are thinking must be true. When overwhelmed, we notice everything that confirms that everything is too much right now. Equally, when we're hopeful, we suddenly notice possibilities we'd overlooked before.
Our perspective gives us context. A narrow focused perspective shows us exactly the way each minute detail fits together. A wider perspective shows us the bigger picture.
One of the most difficult, yet most rewarding things I've learnt is to hold two seemingly opposite facts at once, something I believe only possible with perspective.
Life can feel difficult, and yet there is still so much worth loving about life. To be able to move forward even when we don't know how things will work out. That's the challenge of life. That's also the joy because sometimes things turn out better than we could have hoped for and we would never have found that out if we never took that first step.
Is life always easy - no and equally not everything in life is terrible. Once we start to see and appreciate the things we love about life, our focus shifts.
Lately, the sun only has to poke her face through the clouds to make me stop and relish the moment. Standing there with my eyes closed and the sun warming my face - nothing else matters in that moment. I soak in the light and feel like everything will work out okay no matter what has been going on.
Simple practices help me too. Slowing down my breath, breathing out more slowly than I am breathing in. Or consciously releasing muscles - in my jaw, my tongue, my face and shoulders. It never ceases to amaze me how much tension is held in the face. These are such small shifts but they add up to a more relaxed body and a mind that is more able to think straight. It doesn't stop the chatter, but turns down the volume enough so I can think more clearly.
This week I've been hand sewing a beautiful silver braid onto a dress I'm making for a Medieval Festival coming up soon. There is no shortcut. Every stitch needs attention and so I sit, be still and focus. What's turned out to be a beautiful consequence is that my mind becomes more quiet, like it is slowing down to the rhythm of my stitches. Each careful stitch is helping my mind to soften and calm. Thoughts come one at a time with pauses in between.
Gardening feels much the same. No rushing just slow deliberate work that achieves much in its persistence. I'll admit there are some things that machines can do much better than me. But most of the time the work that is really needed cannot be done by machine, it needs slow and steady hands.
A Seed to Carry
Where have you become so close to something that you have lost sight of the bigger picture?
What simple practice helps you find your perspective again?
As I write this, the calves are calling for their mothers.
Dawn is about to break.
Soon they will be reunited and another day will begin.
Before it does, I hope you find a quiet moment to stand in the morning light, to breath deeply, and remember that whatever you are carrying today is only one part of a much larger story.
May this day bring you peace.
May you feel the warmth of the sun on your face too.
Until next time,
Leeanne
P.S. Thank you for being here at the beginning of The Way of the Sage. It means more to me than you know. I'd love to hear from you. If something in this letter resonated, or if there is something you'd love to see explored in a future letter , simply hit reply. I read every email personally.
