It's been one of those weeks.  You know the kind...where multiple obstacles and difficult circumstances seem to collide and make you feel like you're doing everything in your power just to keep afloat.  Here is just one example:  Last Friday, the internet goes down.  Someone came out and fixed it on Monday morning just in time for my computer to start acting like it was going to crash.  I worked with it for the past couple of days, updating and clearing out files to free up space.  I was almost through with it when...yes, the internet went back out.  This morning, the internet is out, and my seemingly-almost-better computer begins to not work at all.  I took it in to find out that I need a new hard drive.  

Now take this example and echo it through a variety of circumstances this week.   Something happens, seems better, then something else happens.  I've had to try and stay very focused, especially with a show coming up this weekend.  I've had to prioritize and recognize what needs done now and what can realistically wait until next week.   I know that I'm not alone in this.  I've had multiple conversations this week where others are also running into extra obstacles.  It's like I have a reserve of energy to get through a week.  I know what has to be done and what I need to do it.  When you add several extra large things to that mix, that's where I start to feel like I can't catch my breath.  

Last night, I took a time out.  I spent some time being still, journaling, and doing some reading in The Wisdom of No Escape by Pema Chodron.  Here is some of what I came across:  

"In the way we practice, we don't say 'Hell is bad and heaven is good' or 'Get rid of hell and just seek heaven', but we encourage ourselves to develop an open heart and an open mind to heaven, to hell, to everything.  Why?  Because only then can we realize that no matter what comes along, we're always standing at the center of the world in the middle of sacred space, and everything that comes into that circle and exists with us there has come to teach us what we need to know.  

Life's work is to wake up, to let the things that enter the circle wake you up rather than put you to sleep.  The only way to do this is to be open, be curious, and develop some sense of sympathy for everything that comes along, to get to know its nature and let it teach you what it will."

With that, I'm reminded that we must each continue to wake up to how things actually are.  It's easy when things are going well to think that we're regressing if something goes bad.  "Heaven or hell"...that old dichotomic way of thinking.  Instead, I am moving through each of these obstacles with long, deep breaths and curiosity.  Now, I just need to add a dose of good humor, and I'll be set for the weekend.

**Photo sent by a dear friend as a reminder that things will get better

Has anyone else had one of those weeks?  Feel free to share your stories and how you are stepping through it...