Here you are.
Inhaling.
Exhaling.
Here you are.
Centering in the midst of making your way through life's flotsam and jetsam.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Exhale.
Welcome to a hit of hope.
If you woke up one morning with an angry rhino attached to your back,
You would probably rush out to find the nearest doctor.
Although if that would be a veterinarian,
A field surgeon,
Or a plastic surgeon,
That's hard to say.
If you woke up one morning with a shivering chihuahua attached to your left arm,
You'd again probably rush out and find someone,
Anyone,
Who could help you gently and mindfully remove the frightened animal.
Then you might put it into some warm blankets and hold it close until the trembling stopped.
If you woke up one morning with an agitated rattlesnake coiled around your right ankle,
Constricting and ready to strike at you or anyone who came near,
You wouldn't even hesitate.
You would find the nearest person and say,
Please,
I need help.
And yet when we wake up and the inner rhino is ready to charge at you and all who approach,
Or when the inner nervous dog is shaking so hard it can hardly stand,
Or when the inner constricting and biting snake is ready to attack,
You might say,
Oh,
It's you again and go about your day.
Or you might even grab some food off of your very own plate and feed the animal.
Inhale.
Exhale.
So many of us carry these kinds of creatures around day in and day out.
And if you are anything like me,
You think it's normal.
It's not that these creatures are bad in and of themselves.
Rhinos are majestic.
Chihuahuas can be adorable.
Rattlesnakes manage that perfect balance of fierce and graceful.
But do you really want them attached to you?
Probably not.
Inhale.
Exhale.
The idea is not to kill these creatures.
But neither is it to let them rule you and ruin your life.
The idea is to put them off at a safe distance.
Rhino,
Here is your wide open savanna.
You stay over there,
And if you get angry,
I mean really angry,
I'll stay over here and watch you.
Chihuahua,
With your little trembling body shaking so hard,
Here's a blanket and a patch of sun.
Curl up into a snug ball and rest.
And you,
Rattlesnake,
Alarmed and shaking your rattle,
Ready to strike and sink your teeth into anything that gets too close.
I'm going to stay over here,
All safe and wise.
While you stay by the fallen oak in your beautiful coil.
With diamonds running up and down your back.
Namaste.
