January 8

ACCEPTANCE MONTH: DAY 8: “Before you can live a part of you has to die. You have to let go of what could have been, how you should have acted and what you wish you would have said differently. You have to accept that you can’t change the past experiences, opinions of others at that moment in time or outcomes from their choices or yours. When you finally recognize that truth then you will understand the true meaning of forgiveness of yourself and others. From this point you will finally be free.” ― Shannon L. Alder
So very true! There is also a great deal to learn from the past, especially those things we would like to change. There is NO way to learn without falling down, skinning your knees and getting back up again. Life is so messy and wonderful…mud makes me happy…I can only grow things when there is a muddy spot involved. After the rain, I want to run outside and dig the ground, because I know it is all muddy. Some of my friends have seen what I can create out of mud, but the mud is absolutely necessary. I am designing a new tattoo with a lotus, so I can remember that EVERYTHING about me is formed from the muddy life I have had…both literally and figuratively. There is no way to walk through this journey without a getting dirty and making some really good, muddy messes. Emotional mud is necessary, so that we can reach a clear space where life is revealed in all of its blazing glory. Children understand the beauty of getting dirty and playing in the mud. We lose some of that joy as we grow older and begin to believe and embrace those things that we are programmed to believe and do. Such a shame that the truly spiritual parts of life are removed as we undergo the process of being “educated”….like playing and creating and imagining and wonder and awe. Schools should be located in the woods, on the beach, in the mountains, with enormous numbers of animals, so that children truly learn about life and death and what is important. But they are not, so many of us get broken along the way. Being broken is a crucial part of life, not a mistake, but essential to the process. It would be so much nicer for all of us if we were taught to embrace the breaking open and the illusions that others want us to take on. What if we had classes for hugging and telling stories and fingerpainting on the walls of retirement homes and playing hopscotch with homeless people and baking cookies with veterans. This curriculum would be such better preparation for life than what we have today. And we could ALL bake mudpies for each other and that would be better than money or learning Algebra and other things that do not serve us in later life! I think I am going to start a new school….