Treading lightly

"Tread lightly upon this earth, seeing, understanding, but never imposing.

Thoughtful, independent, be gracious in victory and defeat. 

Free of possessiveness, so ease of mind sweetens relationships. 

Like the scent of a rose the untroubled spirit imparts a lasting fragrance."

- Author Unknown

Sometimes it takes a little work to keep my head in a really good place, but I feel grateful  to have learned over the years what's effective and what isn't in that effort. Words like those quoted above always help me to focus on the peaceful, harmonious state of mind I strive to cultivate. At present I feel blessed to have peace of mind, a positive outlook, and beautiful weather to boot.

The temperature here is in the mid-70s, warm enough to eat breakfast and lunch on the patio, an activity I've missed in the winter months. A good book is part of that picture, too, and even if I have to stop every other paragraph to throw Levi's ball, I'm happy out there. Yesterday and today, the world as viewed from my backyard has been crayon colored--not  the pastels of crayons on paper, but the brilliant hues of wax crayons in the box. The big box.

Friday's weather was warmer and greyer, and, though a predicted storm never materialized, there was a storm of a different sort in my front yard. Just before dinnertime, there was a loud explosion and the power went out. I stepped outside to see neighbors standing in my driveway, looking at the telephone pole at the end of it, from which loose lines hung and flew in multiple directions. A couple of those lines lay across the road. As it was rush hour, traffic was heavy, and the driver of one vehicle either didn't see or didn't care about the lines in the road. As he sped over one of them, his wheels kicked it up and it tangled around his axle, making him wobble across the center line, then bringing him to an unexpected, screeching halt two doors down. Fortunately, no one ran into him, and no one was injured. Our electric company sent a truck out right away, accompanied by sheriff's vehicles to regulate traffic on the two-lane road, and when our power was restored within the hour, we actually raised our arms and cheered the guys who made it happen.

I've had multiple medical appointments in the last week or so. Those often stress me out (the waiting alone can sometimes do it), but I've been able to keep the zen thing going through all of them. One day it was the doctor, then the lab for blood tests, then the dentist, and then a first-time visit to a cardiologist, prompted by a recent episode of arrhythmia. The cardiologist was reassuring. He tweaked my hypertension meds a little bit and told me to come back and see him in a year. In the meantime, as a precaution, he scheduled me for a stress test. There's a history of heart disease and strokes in my family, so it makes sense to be sure I'm not already walking down that same path.

Tomorrow I'll be treading as fast as I can go. Until my heart, lungs, and knees have made it through that test (and except for the two hours I'll spend tonight watching "The Bachelor: The Women Tell All"), I'll continue to gather as much positive, peaceful energy around me as I can.

With that thought in mind, there's only one thing left to say: "Ommmmmmmmmmmm."

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Thanks to mrinalpatna for sharing this YouTube video.