I Turned It All Over at the Beach

To say that our move to Nanaimo has been tumultuous would be an understatement. There have been a lot of ups and downs and unexpected twists and turns. I had thought that we would have already moved to Nanaimo and we would be well on our way to planning our first CSL Nanaimo community event by now.

I have a pretty solid spiritual practice that keeps me grounded most of the time. I find that it is easy to meditate and focus on the positive when things are going well. It is not quite so easy when life gets difficult. Can you relate?

I recently had a particularly weak moment on our most recent trip to Nanaimo. We were there to buy our new home once again (don't ask...) and things were not going well. I was pretty much at my wit's end so Derek and I decided to go for a walk at the beach.

To my delight, we happened upon a community labyrinth at the beach in Parksville.

The labyrinth is beautifully decorated with inspirational messages painted by members of the community. We both jumped at the opportunity to meditate as we walked the labyrinth. As I slowly followed the path into the centre of the labyrinth, I could feel the tension in my body start to dissipate. My jaw and shoulders started to relax and I could feel a sense of peace wash over me. By the time I reached the centre, I felt completely different.

One of the messages that caught my eye in the labyrinth was this one:

Breathe. It really is that simple. Somewhere along this journey I had stopped breathing. Of course, my body was keeping me alive by taking in enough oxygen to keep my organs functioning. But I couldn't remember the last time I had taken a deep breath and trusted that everything was going to work out. I had given into fear and allowed stress to build.

When we get stuck in fear, our perspective gets skewed. Everything seems worse than it really is. When we can breathe and find the peace that resides within us, we are much better able to recognize the solutions that are often right in front of us.

I am so grateful that I was able to turn it all over at the beach. I was able to breathe and find peace. What a great reminder!

Life is a beautiful blessing!!

Much love,

Amanda