I’ve been struggling to put a name…or a concept…or a feeling around the pace of my life lately. From the outside, it seems like I should be really busy…and sometimes I feel that way. But this feeling of busy is far different than what busy used to feel like.
And because this feeling that I knew so very well seems a bit foreign to me now, I’ve been putting a lot of energy to trying to understand why. Why am I not feeling overwhelmed? Why am I not feeling scattered? Why am I not feeling out of control? Or more positively framed, why do I feel a sense of peace despite everything that’s swirling about?
I was pondering this as I looked out the window and noticed some decent sized snowflakes fluttering to the ground and it hit me.
Snowflakes are a complex creation…no two are identical yet they have more similarities than differences when observing them from the outside. Despite their complexities and the harshness of winter, they never seem to be in a hurry. Even in a blizzard, each individual snowflake is simply doing its job…eloquently falling to the earth.
If they do appear to be in a hurry, it’s the wind pushing them along. Swirling them around. But regardless of what the wind does, the snowflake is still a snowflake. And that’s what I’ve come to realize about the pace of my life.
Because I’m finally in control of my own destiny…meaning I’ve taken full responsibility for what I do and how I feel about it…I’m able to remain unchanged. Able to continue to be at peace and calm despite how the wind may blow around me.
Rather than getting caught up in the breeze, I’m learning to ride the gusts much like the snowflake. I’m finally able to see…and feel…the difference between the two. Just because the wind blows hard and cold, doesn’t mean I have to be. I’m content to remain a complicated, delicate snowflake.