Thank You, I'm Going Downhill

[roney]

Finding something to be grateful about--even the bad stuff--is a
spiritual practice.

~ By Meg Barnhouse

Let me explain something about me and spiritual practice. I stink at
it. There is nothing I do serenely day after day, glowing from
within, filled with light and peace. The practice of mindfulness,
for example, makes me so irritable I have to quit after a minute or
two. Washing dishes with my whole focus, breathing into the water,
doing a careful job, emptying my mind of all other tasks than this
one—Just. Doing. This. One. Thing. Arrrrkkk! My mind and body are
happy doing five things at once. I have to find a practice that
suits me. Gratitude is one thing that has been working out well so
far.

I was on my way down from the mountains on Interstate 26 when, a
mile before Saluda, my car's engine turned off. I was going
downhill, and for some reason, my spiritual practice of gratitude
kicked in.

"Thank you that I am going downhill," I began, popping the clutch to
jump the engine back to life. Nada. When the grade rose again, I
coasted to a stop on the shoulder of the road. After trying to start
the car two more times, I gave up, got out, and, leaning against the
trunk of the car, stood facing traffic.

"Thank you that it's not too hot," I said, making my hand into the
internationally recognized telephone symbol, my thumb and pinkie
extended, holding it up by my ear.

"Thank you that so many people have car phones now."

"Thank you that I'm not in my pajamas."

I looked down and there was an orange-and-black butterfly sitting in
some grass by the highway. "Thank you for the beauty of that
butterfly. Look, there is another one! And another one! They must be
migrating. Oh, that one's dead. Uh—thank you that the other ones are
alive."

After ten minutes of signaling to passing drivers to call in about
me, I started walking to Saluda.

"Thank you that I'm not thirsty," I muttered. "Thank you that I have
shoes on I can walk in. Thank you that it's only a mile to Saluda
from here. Thank you that I don't have to go to the bathroom. Thank
you that it's not raining." After about maybe four minutes, I saw a
Highway Patrol car coming north, on the other side of the median. I
waved to him, and he waved back. "Thank you that the officer saw me.
Thank you that he's turning around." He pulled to a smooth stop
beside me and motioned for me to get in.

"Thank you that it's so cool in this car," I continued silently in
my head (I'm not nuts). "Thank you that I didn't have to walk to
Saluda."

The patrolman told me that the phone lines had lit up with calls
about me. "Lotta people have cell phones these days." The nearest
towing company was down in Columbus, he told me. It would probably
take more than an hour for them to get free and come help me. He was
willing to take me to the gas station in Saluda, where there was a
pay phone I could use. He radioed the police dispatcher to get a
phone number for the towing company. She gave it to him, and I had
just enough time to write the number down as we swung into the gas
station and jerked to a sudden stop. A huge black truck was
barreling right at us; it screeched to a dramatic stop, barely
avoiding locking bumpers with the patrol car. It was the tow truck.

"Heard you ask for our number over the radio," the red-headed man
said, laughing, sliding out of the cab. "I'd heard the calls about
her being broke down, and I was on my way down the road right north
of here. Almost beat you."

I'm the luckiest person I know. Or maybe I have hit upon a spiritual
practice with instant results. Either way, I'll take it.

[Lilli]

Its all in your perception isnt it Roney. That was uplifting ty . Weve missed ya Roney you still in Ireland? Or back at Amsterdam? take care.
_________________

I pass to you the torch that Christ once passed to me.
Others are still in the dark and need
the light to see.
"I AM"
"Gathering the fragments so that
none are lost"
His Shepherdess
http://missouri.thcministry.org/

[roney]

hiya lilli- i'm back in amsterdam and looking for a new job..not so much internet access these days. i'm glad you like the post.

peace all

[indicaspice]

Most people would have turned that experience into something negative, but you saw the positive in it roney.
_________________




What worries you masters you.

Haddon W. Robinson

[RogerChristie]

She found 'blessings' everywhere she looked. That's how 'it' works. Try it and tell us yours. Bless everything - especially the 'bad' stuff. :-}

love,

Roger
_________________
God, that's great! Please show me the blessings in this situation ... and hurry! We are safe, we are loved and all is well.

[Pepper]

Nice post Roney. I make the choice of accepting my defeats and failures, learning the lesson and finding the blessings. This way failures can elevate me to life at it's best.

Peace