If you are narrow minded
the whole world will appear narrow to you.
If you are happy and with friends
the world will seem a garden of roses.— Rumi
Our suggested opening says “We believe that changed attitudes can aid recovery.” Rumi reminds me that, so often, what I see, what I experience, what I feel in a particular place or situation, is dependent on what I bring with me. My attitude is so often shaped by my expectations. Several years ago, my parents were moving out of my childhood home. We were all invited home for one last Christmas celebration in the house I grew up in, and in which my parents had lived for almost 50 years. I was faced with a situation that was fraught with expectations. If I went “home”, expecting the Christmases of old, I was bound to be disappointed when some particular event didn't happen, or didn't work out “right” for me. I decided, before we left on the trip, that I would not expect any particular thing to happen, and that I would be satisfied and happy with whatever did come along. It worked. That was one of the best visits I had made to my family, and I thoroughly enjoyed our celebrations. Of course, all the things I might have expected did not come to pass, but I was present and engaged in what did. I was “happy and with friends” and the world seemed “a garden of roses.”
A meditation for October 5, 2013.
Heaven When We're Home by the Wailin' Jennys