Reflecting on Life's Wisdom from the Verandah
Sunday morning had me reflecting on life. Sometimes that’s a good thing. Other times, it’s not because I can get a bit sad.
I always try to make my little corner of the internet both real and uplifting for all who visit here. There’s so much shit in the world; no one wants to turn up for sadness or negativity. However, in keeping it real, I think we all know there are good and bad days. And if we don’t speak up about both, we’re not doing anyone any favours.
This week has been a low week. I won’t say bad, because there are always highlights in every day. Sometimes it’s a sunrise, or my resident magpie family come in and land on the pool fence just outside my kitchen window and sing to me. (That’s the reason I bought this house: the magpies. Random fact!) The magpies are rethinking their life choices since Shadow arrived and chases them every chance she gets. Even with some stern discipline from me. Must be worth it on her behalf. Not so much the maggies.
There’s also been some things going on with my family that have caused me more than one sleepless night.
Anyway, suffice to say that this last week has felt like I’m wading through heavy, sticky mud!
As I was having my morning coffee, I remembered a saying that my Papa used many times when I was telling him about things that were worrying me.
‘And this too shall pass. Whether it’s good or whether it’s bad, it will pass.’
And dammit (because what rebel likes it when the adults are right?), he was absolutely correct!
We know this about the bad times, because they always do pass, but the good ones pass as well. There is nothing more certain (other than death and taxes) than whatever we are going through right now, be it happy, sad, or anything in between, will go by, and the emotion will slowly stop being so large, and one day you check in, and it’s not there at all.
Then I got to thinking about the shitty times I’ve had in life. I’ve been practising my speech for the Hervey Bay event, and in that I open up a lot about some of the hardest times of my life, ones I haven’t spoken about before. I think that’s part of the reason why I’ve been a bit flat. Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel feels like a freight train coming at you, rather than the sunlight you are hoping for.
That light was feeling like the freight train. Needing to switch it up a bit, I made a coffee and sat on the verandah, trying to sit through the panic and anxiety that was flaring in my chest. Grounding myself in the here and now, rather than what has been and what might be. And I heard these words…
‘You’ve got a really good success rate of getting through this stuff.’
What a surprise! ‘You’ve got a really good success rate of getting through this stuff.’
Damn straight I do! We all have! Because time moves on and situations move with it.
So if you’re having a low week, grab a coffee and go and find a little bit of sun and curl up there. Or find a dog to pat. And know that your success rate of getting through the hard shit is one hundred per cent. Go you! (And me!)
So here’s my bit of wisdom from the verandah this morning:
“Life’s a bit like farming—you can do all the right things, but you still can’t control the weather. Do what you can, appreciate the good days, ride out the bad ones, and never underestimate the value of a cuppa and patting a dog.”
Have a good rest of your week.
Oh, and ticket sales for the Hervey Bay event close on Tuesday, so you haven’t got long. We have to shut them early for catering. If you’d like to book, please do so by clicking HERE.
