“If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.”
Apparently this line originated with Woody Allen. I can see Mr. Allen pushing up his glasses with his most woe-is-me-sigh at the indignity of it all.
I think the trick to dealing with the fact that life is change is learning to accept that we don’t know how it’s going to go. There is a certain freedom in relinquishing control, because truly, the very idea of control is an illusion.
Mind you it’s a very deep illusion that most of us pretend we’re not party to. How else could we begin to fill our calendars if we had to add a God-willing or Inshallah to every thing we inked on each upcoming date? We have to assume that things will more or less be like they are today. And yet, life proves over and over that this is not the case.
Shit happens. Sometimes good shit. Sometimes bad. But it definitely happens.
In spite of knowing this, I have an ongoing inner battle with how I think things should look like. But lately, I’m catching my thoughts in mid-flight, as my crazy inner-voice declares that there has to be an answer and if I twist on the topic long enough, I’ll know it.
I find myself actually laughing out loud. It tends to defuse the egoic mind-set when you laugh at your oh-so-serious-and-often-righteous-thinking. “Ha!” says I to me, “That is seriously messed-up, sister! You might want to let that thinking go right now and practise living in the question.”
After years of searching and learning and questing and traveling and wondering and writing and thinking, there are three things I know for sure, or at the very least, three thoughts that sustain me:
1. Laughing helps…especially when directed at my own earnest self.
2. I know nothing and can quit pretending otherwise.
3. All answers need to be based on love. Love, in fact, is the only answer. No matter what the question.
If you’d like to share what you know after all your years on the planet…please add your comments. I’m always willing to add something new to my list.
“All you need is Love (da da da da dah with trumpet sounds)”. Ah, those Beatles. So very wise, and neither they nor we knew it deeply at the time.
Mandy, that’s perfect. I wish I could install that Beatles soundtrack on my post. You’re right. It was sort of just a happy jingle song but it’s so so profound. I’m finally getting it!
You have found the best way to live – I have discovered the relief of laughing – or should I say the release with laughing! And as you’ve stated, when all answers are based in love,
the best answers have been found. Love your writing girl! Looking forward to your visit
to Sask. next month!
Yes indeedy Karen, laughter is truly the best medicine on the planet! Looking forward to our SK visit too. Perhaps we can share a laugh or two 🙂
My favorite number from the your advice list is #3. Responding, thinking and speaking from your heart with love has always helped me. Example: the grumpy or perhaps rude sales clerk… what is going on in his/her life to make him/her behave rudely?
Or, my favorite, when one of my children comes to me with a problem at school, work or relationship. I tell them to speak the truth from their heart. My son said to his teacher once, “why do you always ask myself and 3 other boys a question in front of the entire class when we clearly do not know the answer. If we knew the answer we would have raised our hand. It is really quite belittling and makes us feel bad about ourselves.” Spoken from his heart. He did not get into trouble by speaking his true feelings in a calm, polite manner. In fact, the teacher was speechless and it never happened again.
Saying nothing can often work too and then laughing about the absurdity of it all. We really are a strange bunch. So yah, laughing, a very good idea!
Ah Karen. You have raised such wise children. Love the teacher story. Wow. Wonder where he would have learned that behaviour???
Amen on the laughing at the bizarreness of the world. It’s a strange and wacky place and we’re all pretty strange and wacky people to boot.
Great advice for travel and life …especially #1. It takes care of #2 and #3 which is handy.
Yup to laughing as much as possible, Michele.
It sometimes gets me in trouble, but more often, it helps lift me out of my troubles.
I know always know things are bad if I can no longer see the absurdity of things, because really, life is crazy stuff and quite surreal.