Stillness 6-7: When and where do you merge with a cause, or a relationship, or a career? What road will you intersect with? Are you an explorer or a settler? Or do you long to imagine and create? Is your passion for people, your fellow-creatures, or your planet? Do you like to learn about how things work or why things exist? Do you believe in this thing or in that? There are so many roads you can take! You can join in a furious cause for justice by driving down this road in the morning and then tenderly tend to your flower garden in the afternoon. You can fall in love with this person or that one and then choose to marry someone else entirely. You’re on one road for a while, then there’s an exit and you decide to go a different route.
Pliancy and flexibility are tremendous human capacities. I think the more we can join in with what we’re interested in or care about, the happier we are. When we remain stuck in our feelings of hurt, outrage, or helplessness, we feel sickened and weak. So when you see a good road, get on the on-ramp. Merge with it. See where it goes.
Don’t ask yourself what others will think—ask yourself what you think. What do you long for? What do you want to be part of? My books have been rejected hundreds of times—but did that mean I should give up writing? If you’ve had health challenges, are you ready to merge onto a road that leads to well-being? If your feelings have been hurt in love, will you turn your back on love? Or will you delve into the riches you’ve learned about yourself and fall in love again?
If you trip when you’re dancing, keep on dancing. If a storm comes, pull over till it passes. If you’re outraged, join the protest. Don’t worry about what other people think–whether it’s scorn or applause or dire warning. The best signs and guideposts are in your heart. The best direction is the one you choose to take. Trust it.