I dream of days cozied up by the fire, watching the fall leaves change. Inspiration enveloping me as I delight in flow and write away the day in euphoric, creative bliss. Taking breaks only to enjoy hugs, cuddles and apple cider.
But…not today. Today, we carry the wood for that fire.
In fact, it has formed a wall between us and everything else. (Some days, we have figurative blocks. Other days, literal…) We cannot leave (by car, at least) until we move it. Piece by piece. Log by log. (Trying not to splinter ourselves or throw our backs out in the process…)
As I dream and build and create, I tend to want it all to feel like flow. Existential ecstasy as the universe aligns and the path alights in front of me.
The reality is, there are seasons. Some for reaping, some for sowing. Ebbs and flows. We can fight them. We can lament them. Or we can meet them with acceptance and intention. Different seasons have us in the work and making progress in different ways. If we are doing the thing, taking the steps, putting one foot in front of the other, we are often making our way, even when it doesn’t feel like it.
I love to write in my free time. Some days, that same underlying yearning for creativity and expression comes out in other ways. In my work too. (After all, what is a long-range plan really but strategic daydreaming?) Those things light me up. And, yet, leaning into them can leave me mourning for the writing that feels foregone. This deep, dull ache. Missing a piece of myself. And feeling I’ve neglected something I love.
What I’ve learned is, in these times, I am writing. Well, sort of. I am doing the thing. When I’m living into the dream and answering what is calling, it is all part of it. It is all creation. It all becomes momentum and flow.
Right now, though, it looks like this wooden barricade we must deconstruct and haul by hand. And, I’m reminded of the Zen saying “Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water.”
This can be true when we have setbacks or feel stagnation as well. Of all kinds. Not making the progress we want. Getting tough feedback. Navigating something that requires us to shift our priorities. Finding ourselves in a quandary without a clear resolution. All of these things, too, are seasons. All of the seasons are generative. The key is to be intentional and aware enough to see them that way. Working through the hard and looking for the learnings. Growth and progress are often not linear and are certainly not easy. In my experience it is almost always uncomfortable and often painful. But worth it.
And, some days are just not the days of big things. There are the days of rest. Days of the practical and tactical as well. Ordinary and routine. Yet, vital.
Whatever our Some Day, the vision doesn’t simply come into being. We have to be deliberate. It may be building a house, building a business, building a team or building a life. The days are not all the same, yet they are rich. Abundant. If you are watching, if you are listening, everything has the opportunity to inspire. And, even if a spark doesn’t alight in the moment, we are generating a store of primed energy that is ready when the optimal conditions arise. When the time comes. (Trust that the time will come…)
Some days, we enjoy the warm glow of the fire. Some days, we stretch and struggle to lug the wood. All days, we have an opportunity to explore as seasons of our Some Day. Living into it. In full expression. In the present moment. Merging with today.
As we shift from season to season, we have a chance to pay attention. To ask ourselves – What is different now? What is possible now? And, seize the day.
