Be Like The Wind

We've been experiencing a bit of a drought here in Evergreen. Though the pines, aspen and other native plants seem to be doing fine - as if they've done this before. No doubt they have. Thousands of times. The wait for the rain. No panic.

Today is also Charlotte's and my 2nd wedding anniversary, which is a great thing since Charlotte is a pretty amazing partner in life. We started the celebratory day with breakfast at the Wildflower Cafe, but I just didn't feel right.

A little melancholy, baby. A little boy blue. This could be because its our first 4th of July away from our family in Ohio and New York - we often had big gatherings in Ohio for the clan. Or it may just have been depression, to which I am prone, with no goddamn reason at all other than misfiring neurons someplace in my frontal cortex.

I've gotten better over the years of just experiencing my emotions rather than trying to do something about them. If I'm down, I'm down. And if I'm up, I'm up. I often find that if I stay with the depressive feelings they will eventually change to something different. Like watching a sunset or clouds roll across the sky.

The drought ended this afternoon, at least for the day. We watched the storm clouds gather down at the end of the valley, rolling and booming like a parade waiting to start. Then down the valley it marched - a torrential downpour cascading off the rocky cliffs and filtering down through the trees in shiny droplets.

Now the sun is brightly back, the air is thick with the clean smell of pines, and its time to fix our anniverary dinner - a Moroccan salad. While we eat, we can sit and watch the sunset chase away the few straggling clounds.

As Lao-tzu wrote so long ago:

Be like the forces of nature:
when it blows, there is only wind;
when it rains, there is only rain;
when the clouds pass, the sun shines through.

Namaste.

TAGS:
Lao-tzu
Tao
depression