Of Earthquakes and...

Migrating Body Parts

“Earthquakes are reminders that life shifts, moves, changes places...Just as nature shifts and moves into new shapes and forms, so do we.”

Melody Beattie (Journey to the Heart, p. 236)

I'm trying to get used to the new shape of my body. I remember being pregnant in my thirties, and watching my body swell with the life of a new human being. It was staggering to see how elastic it was—certainly put spandex in the shade. It was a joy to watch because I knew it would be time-limited and the outcome would be a healthy baby. Now, it's equally staggering how all that stretchiness has migrated south. Age has a way of cannibalizing our elasticity and replacing it with something we don't quite recognize as belonging to us. I rejoice, however, because my saggy-self is healthy.

Change happens. A crack in the ground shaken apart by an earthquake may end up as Bryce Canyon. Our human body/mind becomes less taut, a little softer and more yielding. That's not always a bad thing. Sometimes our shifts are predictable, like the changes that come naturally with age, and sometimes they are sudden and shocking. Either way, they require us to adapt, to learn new ways of coping, and to learn acceptance. How we weather these shifts depends to a large degree upon how much we trust life. To the extent that we adapt to the changes that living brings, to the degree that we look forward and not backward, then we can traverse them with curiosity. We can remain interested and connected with ourselves and our world.

Flexibility is essential, whether you are young or old. We need to be able to stretch ourselves like a pregnant belly to accommodate our ever changing world. It helps to remain optimistic, positive, and at the same time, grounded and realistic. I'm no longer thirty, I won't be having any more babies. But now, I am much more attentive to all of life. My sphere has extended out to include the world. If we do our inner, spiritual work, this is as much a byproduct of living long as migrated body parts. Our spirituality expands, reaches out to encompass all living beings. As life changes, we change, and some of those changes are exceedingly good.

                                                           In the Spirit,

                                                               Jane