Breeze of contentment

It’s hot today. The breeze is blowing in the window and instead of shutting myself off from that to turn on the air conditioning, I turn on the ceiling fan.

When the humidity strikes later this summer, I will be grateful for A/C. Today I am grateful for the winds that flutter the curtains and the sound the rustling leaves make. I like watching the branches take their turns swaying as the air swirls through the yard. It is warm air, but it’s moving.

When the air is still and hot with no movement, that’s when I will be delighting in the comfort of air conditioning. What a difference movement makes.

It made me think of my life. Sometimes things are less than comfortable, yet as long as things are moving, I feel fine. When I feel stagnant or stifled, that’s when I notice the longing for a breeze.

Do you ever feel stuck in a rut? Like the winds of change are not blowing, and instead you are standing in a hot oven?

Those are the days you need to do a quick review. As much as I believe in not holding on to the past, looking back can be helpful.

How will you realize how far you’ve come if you never take stock of it?

We journey on through life often not paying attention to all the hills we’ve climbed, or not giving ourselves high fives for the climb.

It’s a matter of reframing. If you look back and think of it as troubles, trials, and hardships and suffering, and you wail and moan that life is so hard, that won’t feel so great. You will feel like you are baking in the desert.

Instead if you can take a look in the rear view mirror and see all the terrain that you have covered and be grateful for where you are now, you will feel that cool breeze to refresh you.

Take a glance back to say, wow, look at all I’ve conquered. Look at what all I have done thus far in my life. Look at what all I have learned. Look at the roads I have traveled to get me to here.

That feels good.

Give yourself credit for your accomplishments, big and small. Isn’t every day an accomplishment?

Even if you are someone who thrives on the sameness of life, and that brings you comfort, you can still look back at the past year and be amazed at how far you have come.

Have you met any new people that you found interesting? Even if it was a five minute conversation and you never saw that person again, that person contributed something to your life.

Have you read anything this past year that stimulated some thinking? Have you heard a new song that you love? Have you watched a movie that inspired or delighted you?

You don’t have to be a world traveler to broaden your horizons. Simply observing the right here right now is a wonderful teacher.

The breeze is blowing. Do you feel it? It does not have to be a wind of change, it can be a wind of contentment. Say thanks either way.

Tonight when you go to bed, you will turn on the AC or open the windows, to suit your comfort. Maybe you will have a fan blowing at the foot of your bed. Don’t gripe that it is hot air. Whisper a thanks for air movement, and that you are part of it, for one more day.