Swimming Upstream

Leave it to Mark Nepo to say the right thing. How does he do it time and time again? It's uncanny and I love it.

Today's meditation in "The Book of Awakening" was about salmon. Yeah, you know where this is going already, don't you?

If you want a lesson in how to thrive, take a closer look at the salmon. They use their vulnerable underbelly, from center to tail, to propel themselves further upstream against rushing waters. Somehow, they have mastered how to place themselves squarely against the powerful current and upon impact, they are launched further up. And they repeat this again and again. "Their leaning into what they face bounces them further and further along their unlikely journey."

"In order not to be swept away by what the days bring, we, too, must find a way to lean into the forces that hit us so squarely.

The salmon offer us a way to face the truth without shutting down. They show us how leaning into our experience, though we don't like the hit, moves us on. Time and again, though we'd rather turn away, it is the impact of being revealed, through our willingness to be vulnerable, that enables us to experience both mystery and grace."

Ok. I get it Universe. Thanks for sending the message.