Downstream and listening

Rachel, in response to your question...What’s making you smile?

This week, two people (one in a conversation, the other in an article) have talked about ‘responding to life’, not having a big life plan or even a little one. Just responding to whatever comes their way and in so doing they have created fulfilling and supportive work – life work – for themselves; one’s an international aid worker and the other is a civil celebrant in Sydney.

The pressure to go out and ‘do’ starts young with the questions from well meaning adults—what are you going to do when you grow up? I don’t get asked that anymore (strangely enough) but I still sometimes ask it of myself. I had a few contented years off from this question, in happy surrender to birthing and mothering, just going with the flow, not needing to ‘do’ so much as to ‘be’.

Over the last few months though, as my youngest needs me less, I’ve felt this growing impulse to be in the world AND do. Dare I say it...to change it! So I really liked hearing these two women talk about just responding to circumstances; seeing a need and responding, then seeing another need and responding. This is a much more gentle way of contributing to the world, the community, the family, the self...It made me smile and think of water—saying ‘yes’ to the flow and ‘no’ to pushing the river.

The other thing that made me smile was hearing the same message twice, from completely different sources, just a few days apart...I think I needed to hear it!!

Charlotte