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| ‘A normal Life' |
Just before leaving on our latest trip Jane did this drawing. Looking at the choppy discomfort of the waters led us into a discussions about, "what is the normal life?".
Much of the time I think I view the normal life as the calm sea and the sun shining and the picnic basket overflowing.
If that is the case, then the storm wind, the hail, the raging sea, or the doldrum sea, the grey skies and the empty picnic basket, become the "abnormal life", which means I conclude that something is wrong. If that's the case then all of my energy goes into getting my life "back to normal". And given that the majority of life is the rough sea and the sparse picnic basket, then most of life is wasted chasing the "normal life".
What we call "normal" is often where our life-muscles get flabby and soft and we become less equipped to deal with the "abnormal life".
Being here in Cape Town amidst such beauty and challenge I realised once again that I need to develop a clear view of the "normal life".
The normal life is not solely a calm sea and bright sunshine and a full picnic basket, it is all of the richness of every experience that comes my way, without making a judgment on it.
So I wrote my own mantra on the normal life
- Life just is.....Life is what it is
- Embrace life in its totality - love and pain and the whole damn thing!
- Do not give way to fear
- Do not give up when the short sprint turns into a marathon
- Do not let go of the daily disciplines of life
- When the sun is shining, or when the sea is raging, live each day built around the daily disciplines of the anti-fragile life.
Every day:-
- Exercise
- Meditate
- Write and process
- Read and expand
- Let go of my small ego-self to be embraced by a larger story
- Practice kindness, forgiveness and generosity
- Practice smiling
- Walk slowly with my head held up
- Weep with those who are weeping and laugh with those who are rejoicing
(....and taste every sip of South African wine when you are here)
TW
