I was walking home from the gym this morning amid the snow, slush, frigid winds and icy temperatures. My socks and shoes were cold and wet. I thought to myself, “This sucks. When will it be warm again?”
But then I remembered.
Wet sucks are just wet socks. They are neither bad nor good until we apply our judgments – they just “are”. Cold feet aren’t better or worse than warm feet, they’re just different.
And as I became impatient with the season, I was reminded that Spring and Summer can’t be any more perfect than now. The future will be no more perfect than the present.
And so, I stopped resisting the season. I embraced this wet, icy cold for all its perfection.
This moment is exactly as it should be. Perfect.
As a friend of mine emailed me this morning, “Every snowflake falls exactly where it should”. A quote that seems all too appropriate.
February 24, 2008 at 1:38 pm
! I miss posts like this.
February 24, 2008 at 2:07 pm
I was actually thinking summer lately. I hate winter. But I guess your right. This moment is exactly as it should be. Perfect.
Thanks again for your uplifting thoughts.
February 24, 2008 at 2:33 pm
I can’t just be. I have to be human and experience the full gambit of human emotions. If I’m bored, I’m going to think that the world is less than perfect. If I’m ecstatic, then I’m going to think that this moment is the reason for being. I’m passionate about things. It either is or it isn’t. Later winters are especially displeasing to me. I know I can’t do anything about the weather, but wet, cold socks suck. Now, if the sun would shine, the cold, wet socks would be invigorating. Environment is everything.
February 24, 2008 at 2:46 pm
It’s a trick, calling each moment ‘perfect’, as you must adjust your definition of that word to suit the changing times.
I cannot install the software to my new HP Photosmart All-In-One machine, I think because of changes that were made to my Windows XP install by a security program I have, to make XP less vulnerable.
I guess this is a perfect time for me to learn more of the stuff “under the hood” with XP, so I can get the HP software to install, as it is certainly not a perfect time for that software to install. All in how you look at it.
Or, perhaps it’s a perfect time for me to go do laundry instead. Yeah. Clean socks (dry and white) can be perfectly nice. All in how you look at it.
February 24, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Just discovered your blog, you ask questions that make the minds float away. Thank you.
When living in the moment, you realize what you have, who you are, and who you would like to be. Living in the moment comes as a reminder of the truth – even though its sometimes painful.
I recommend you reading Paulo Coelho Dave, I think he’s something for you – he’s one of my favorite authors. Google his name, and his story “The story of the pencil”. Its my favorite story.
Greetings from the north of Europe.
February 24, 2008 at 3:33 pm
I disagree.
Some things in life are just not good for humans. Cold feet might be nice for ducks, but for humans cold feet results in poor blood circulation and eventual illness. Cold socks results in mold and bacterias that attack the body. You have a neutral MENTAL opinion of cold feet/socks, but your PHYSICAL body should be telling you otherwise. Mind-over-body is great, but one should not neglect the body in the process.
February 24, 2008 at 6:01 pm
wait a minute. there are idealists left in this world? I love it. thank you for the reminder…
February 24, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Who you kidding, this weather sucks…plain and simple!!! Embrace nothing, meditate all you want and love the Universe all you want. ..,THIS WEATHER SUCKS. But, when in New England, as they say, just wait a minute and the weather will change!
February 24, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I get that you want to be more Zen, and I do agree that attitude is everything, but much of this post just doesn’t ring as very authentic.
February 24, 2008 at 6:44 pm
I agree. I’m in Maine and I get sick of all the cold weather sometimes, but then I realize that halfway through the summer I will be praying for snow again.
So I guess I will enjoy the snow for now, and let summer come when it comes…
peace
February 24, 2008 at 7:51 pm
OK Davey. I think you may have gone just a bit too far.
No – I take it back – you have gone way too far. Way way way too far.
Once of the greatest gifts that God (or the Universe or whatever have given you is the gift pf judgement. Saying that judgement is a weakness – I don’t buy it.
Wet socks suck. Period.
If your little puppy was left out in the cold – would you be thinking about the perfection of the sensation or would it take it back in. I think we both know the answer.
You’re a lovely guy on a great journey, but you know, unlike ice-cream or love, there is such a thing as TOO MUCH spiritual bulshit.
February 24, 2008 at 7:53 pm
(smiles and laughs) Always up for getting the people talking and chipping in…kudos Dave.
The moments are perfect, as they pass, not before and not after, during.
Great post today and thanks so much for your effort to help us all remember that no matter what the situation…well, I guess that being said is enough also.
Love and best wishes for an exciting week with Chipotle!
Ciao – J
February 24, 2008 at 11:02 pm
davey (beautiful) wavey,
you continue to discover, and we get to peek in at you doing it, the truths of unconditional love.
When we let the conditions of that which is around us determine how we feel, we are lost–only when we know that how we feel is governed by one thing, how we choose to feel, do we realize our power.
try if for a day, an hour: say “I am going to look for that which I am wanting to see”–I am wanting to see how perfect the seasons are; I am wanting to see how deliciously snowflakes fall; I am wanting to see the beauty in slush, I am wanting to adore this day without conditions of what IS because I am seeing that which I am wanting to see.
NOW–what kicks in but our friend the Universal Law of Attraction–and simply because you are willing to RISK looking for that which you are wanting to see, the Universe supplies it over and over again for all of us!
February 25, 2008 at 12:47 am
Oh how I wish there was snow & cold. It should be in the 80′s by the end of the week.
February 25, 2008 at 9:22 am
Thats soo nice. Your totally right about the ice. I was walking my dog on Friday night and there was tons of Black Ice in Boston. Totally took a header.
How did you make out with your Paintings?
February 25, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I just came across your blog, and I have been watching your videos ever since! You seem like such a terrific person. I love the “Every snowflake falls exactly where it should” quote. I’m attending college in Chicago right now (after growing up in a really small town) and it’s refreshing to be reminded that things will work out well, and that even though some things are unclear right now, everything is happening for a reason. Love your talky blogs…Question – Approximately how often do you meditate and for how long? I am trying to make an effort to set aside more time in my day for meditation…such a great way to begin/end a perfect day.
Much Love!
February 25, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I kind of understand what you’re getting at but this is absurd, would you say the same thing about getting punched in the face? I doubt it.
“Wet sucks are just wet socks. They are neither bad nor good until we apply our judgments – they just “are”. Cold feet aren’t better or worse than warm feet, they’re just different.”
February 25, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Here is another message from the Universe: It is OK to have an opinion about what you like and what you don’t. In this time of Moral relativists, there is a push to be tolerant of all things, and that all things are equal. Discrimination has a bad connotation but life is intended to be a process of discovery; some things are inherently pleasant while others manifest in opposition to pleasure.
You will not get the intended lesson if you reject your personal reaction from the opposing process appearing in your life experience. When you avoid having an opinion about the nature of something, if it is good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant, the Universe will not know what to send your way; it will concoct similar lessons until you respond with a choice of preference.
At some point in your life, you will learn to discriminate for the things that bring joy to your experience; that does not mean that you have to curse these things you dislike or refrain from having them appear along your path as it is necessary to know bad to appreciate the good!
February 26, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Stop training yourself to think–you wrote that your initial adversion to cold, wet socks and then you detailed about how you had to alter your natural thoughts to something you perceive as a better way to view things. That to me is limiting who you are as a person and stepping on your freedom (I know those are important to you).
February 28, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Gosh, Dorothy, what have you been smoking? Come back down to earth babe. Cold feet, especially wet ones, make you sick. Didn’t your momma teach you nothin’? The reason we FEEL cold is to tell you to do something about it…get out of the cold and into the warm. We naked apes have learned ions ago that cold kills…at least some of us have.
If you put your hand over a candle flame and just say “Feels hot, and that’s perfect the way it is.” well I’d say you need somebody wiser there to pull your hand out of the flame for you. Better to BE that wiser person.
Be well…and go change your socks!