Live, Love, and Laugh

I don't know about you, but when I travel to another town, city, or country I am always comparing... what is similar or different; what feels familiar or foreign; what I can understand or not.

I experienced this Comparative Brain recently when I was in Manaus, Brazil.  There was enough that was similar or familiar that I felt At Home, but there were also sights and foods that were different or strange.

Are your thoughts and emotions tangled these days?
(Photo:  Tangled Wires in Manuas, Brazil - Larry Gardepie)

It wasn't until I saw the tangled wires throughout this city of 2 million people (in the middle of the Amazon!), that I noticed the jumbled state of my mind: I was far from home; I didn't know the culture or history of this region; I was a guest being welcomed and invited to experience something new.

What am I discovering?  We sometimes need chaos in our lives to clarify what we miss or what is important.  And, it helps to encounter a person with a Kind Heart who understands and walks with us through our Uncomfortableness.

Are you protected from what floods your world?
(Photo: Village house on stilts, Boca da Valeria - Larry Gardepie)

Are there ways to prepare ourselves for this chaos?  Maybe... and maybe not!  We can reflect on what we value.  We can protect what is important.  But, in a complex world where we cannot control others, we might be able to anticipate only a portion of the Uncertainty Ahead.

What am I discovering?   How I respond to what I cannot control is based on the lessons and self-work prior to Chaos Arriving:

• How do I want to show up?
• Am I willing to welcome the strange and unfamiliar?
• What happens when I don't understand or like what is happening?
  

What word, phrase or mantra do you breathe?
(Photo credit: Facebook download)

As we mark these final days of our Lenten Journey or celebrate Spring's arrival or prepare for Passover, Holy Week, or Easter, maybe we can focus on the messages that are flooding our world right now:

• Can we walk together?
• Can we welcome the unfamiliar?
  
• Can we become a Kind Heart to someone else?

Let us take time to reflect on how we Live, Love, and Laugh!  Happy Every Day!

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting