"IT IS WHAT IT IS..."



Living in the moment brings you a sense of reverence for all of life's blessings. Oprah Winfrey, O Magazine

 

Much of my life has been spent worrying about

 how to get where I think I needed to go,

 how to climb the ladder,

how to find success,

how to be the best,

how to come in first....

yes being a first born overachiever can be tiresome!

The rattle in my head was/is often a litany filled with when I's...

When I finish seminary....

When I get this paper done...

When I find a church job...

When I get this project finished...

When I get the house cleaned....

When the kids grow up

I'll....._____

it is much like the way a hamster runs on its wheel to get a bit of exercise.....

the mantras flow through my head,

firing at such a rapid pace that

they run together, mix together overwhelming my being and skewing my reality.

Once when sitting with one of my sheroes (that is heros with an s added for better gender clarification), I was speaking of my difficulty in finding my place in the church as a thinking, questioning woman . 

The wise woman who had already spent years living that road ahead of me, smiled a gracious kind of smile and simply looked at me and said....

It is what it is!

  We all want something different and strive for something different but the truth  is that we must still be able to live our authentic self in the midst of the "it is!"

In February of last year, my husband had a heart attack and I suppose that was a real defining moment for me.  I now look at life bh (before the heart attack) and ah (after heart attack).

  Suddenly all of the "when I's"....no longer mattered on that day. 

In the midst of sitting and praying and hoping that my soul mate would recover,

I suddenly realized how much of my life I had spent occupied with something other than my husband,

 I realized how many times I told my children I'd play with them- later !

and I recalled how many times I told that friend I'd meet him or her for a cup of coffee and never made the time to do it.

It is what it is!!!!!

Life comes rushing at us and it is so easy for all of us to get caught up in the frenzy of it all.  We think we have to overdo, over achieve, accomplish and all the while, wonderful moments of life are passing us by......

It is what it is!!!!

So for this season of my life...

I will strive to live the "isness".

I will laugh with my husband and try to hold his hand more,

I will actually pay attention to my children more when they talk--truth is they have always been my biggest teachers....

I will take the time to connect with my friends and savor the sacred holiness found in sharing the warmth of coffee and conversation.

Life......It is what we choose!

It is what it is!

and for today

I choose to live more fully aware of the wonder around me...

I chose the IS!

I hope you do too!

For it is what it is!

so if any of you have ways that help you stay in the IS, I'd love to know about them.

Leave me a comment and let me know the tricks you have found.