Believe in the Process

Image by CatDancing on Flickr

Be like the bird that, passing on her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing that she hath wings.
~ Victor Hugo

Life is always going to throw you a few curve balls.  That’s the nature of being.  If you have a Type A leaning, and I do, you might find this a little difficult.  You might plan things to the Nth degree, attempting to calculate any possible difficulties and figure out how to deal with them – preparing in advance for any occurrence and getting all your ducks in a row.  And yet, at the end of the day, where the rubber meets the road (I think three metaphor cliches in a series might be all I can do), you can’t control how things unfold.  The world is populated with beings who take actions that ripple out and create changes that are unexpected in ways that are almost unimaginable.  In the end, you have to do your best and then trust the process.

Sometimes, this is easier than other times.  Those gut-clenching, nervous-energy-producing, cold-sweat-making events in life – those are a challenge.  They are a little bit different for everyone.  Many people would put public speaking in this category.  For others, it’s the job interview.  For some, it might be a cocktail party with the investors.  Maybe it’s meeting the in-laws-to-be for the first, or 40th, time.  It could be the big exam, the major race, or the opening night.  Regardless, all that can be done is to give your full effort – virya – to the process and then trust that how it unfolds is how it is meant to unfold – and remember that no effort is lost.

And now, I’m going to take my own advice, go run through my final teach a few more times, and then believe in the process.  It’s all I/we can do!

Namaste,

L