Trusting the Process

Trust resides in the heart; fear lives in the mind. In our lifetimes, we are faced with so many challenging moments that bring up fear or, on the other hand, that teach us to trust the process. I have learned that the way of dealing with every challenge in my life resides somewhere in my heart. One of my favorite books (no longer in print) is Lanza del Vasto's The Principles and Precepts of the Return to the Obvious. As he explains, "The truth you are looking for is not at the end of road. It is everywhere; it is in you." Our heart knows the way!

I have learned, over and over again, to trust the process and to follow my heart. The most recent unexpected event relates to my blog. As I explained in my introductory post, I am new to this form of communication and publication. I have worked hard to get everything in its' right place and to make it sure it is functioning correctly. Once involved, I have enjoyed every minute of pulling things together from the past seventy-one years of my life and putting them all in one place for the world or just one other person to read. I have literally spent hours and hours of gathering resources and writing drafts. Then yesterday when I attempted to access my blog I received a notification indicating that my blog had been removed (by a security computer at the Blogspot server) due to violating the TOS (Terms of Service). It was gone and I did not how to communicate with Blogger to find out what happened and how I could get it back. I lost everything; every creative thought and expression and all of the time that I had spent creating the blog. Gone...

After a few frustrating minutes, I discovered how to reach Blogger Help. I sent a message into the Bloggesphere not knowing if it would ever be read. I got some weird responses and nothing helpful. I was dismayed but not daunted. I did think it was gone, probably forever. It meant a lot to me and it just disappeared, gone and, worse yet, I  could not talk to a living person who might be able to "fix" things.

So, I had been given a choice: be upset and angry or to just let go and be thankful for the opportunity to create the blog in the first place.

I did let go and literally "moved" on. My wife and I went into town to a blues festival. I danced the night away and the blog as well. Once again, like many times before, I did trust the process. I had fun and got the blog off my mind. I actually decided that the Universe might not want me to be spending countless hours at the computer creating and maintaining my blog. Maybe I needed to spend more time (I already spend a lot of time) in the mountains and exploring other outdoor environs around the area. I got comfortable with this thought and prepared to move on with my life and the addition of valuable spare time.

As it also has happened so many times in the past, once I let go (perhaps this was a test) it came back to me. Here is how I expressed it in a poem many years ago:

The Way of the Butterfly

 June, 1981

if you find a beautiful Butterfly,

love it, but let it be free.

if it stays, it was meant to be.

if it flies away, be thankful and go on,

better for having shared even a moment or two.

either way, you are certainly more beautiful

and the Butterfly is at least as beautiful

as when you discovered it.

if you love someone very much,

love them, but let them be free.

if they stay, it was meant to be.

if they leave and do not return,

they were not meant to be yours.

if they return, love them forever.

And so it was...I let go and it came back! This morning I was notified that my appeal had been read and the removal of my blog had, in fact, been a mistake! I am back and my heart is smiling.