Reality Check…

I’ve had a particularly busy day today, one which started with me standing on the edge of the ocean, pondering the past year. It’s my birthday, and I think birthdays are a great time to tally up the psychic spreadsheet. Today’s turned out to be particularly poignant.

I woke up feeling extraordinarily lucky- my little slice of world in “order”; business regenerating, health excellent, friends and family in harmony; I realized my schedule was tight but wanted those ten minutes to drink a cup of coffee by the beach, as rivers of good wishes poured into my life. I took a picture of a decidedly turbulent, translucent sky melting into frenzied waves to share with my well-wishers on Facebook, a soft and misty start to my day. Lucky woman.

As the news of the day unfolded, I realized just how lucky I am, and perspective came clear as the world watched earthquake devastation in Japan and braced for its aftermath around the entire Pacific Rim; force of nature on a scale hard for me to wrap my mind around. In my own small world, it is a reminder that life is fragile, what we build can fall down, who we love can go away and, that at the end of the day, every day- not just birthdays- we need to stop and celebrate the good in our lives.

Corny? Yes. But I think back on that angry ocean in Long Branch this morning, and realize just how tame it was compared to the quiet, sunlit, deadly tidal surges on other shores; aftermath of an earthquake so relentless that its energy made its way under water to our coast and wreaked havoc half the earth and an ocean away from its birthplace.

Today I was on a job site as the contractor tore out a room and we debated what stayed, what we would salvage and what would go in the dumpster. I love that moment in a project- it’s all about possibilities: getting rid of what doesn’t work, preparing for the new. Building, whether physical or psychic, is part of the fabric of my life, and rebirth and reconstruction an inherently creative expression of life at large.

In the coming days the people of Japan will move from shock and turmoil; they will mourn, clear away debris and rebuild. They, in particular, are a nation accustomed to nature’s devastation and have lived with- and built for- this precarious place that is their home. And those of us who are not adjacent will watch the films in dismay, perhaps send a check or say a prayer, and then get back to our lives, mostly untouched by this tragedy.

So I end this day with gratitude for what I have; and with a clear sense that my own choices reverberate in the world at large, through conscientious interconnection; whether its on a job site, or a yoga mat, with friends or in the parking lot at Trader Joes on a Saturday afternoon in spring. Tsunamis of a smaller sort can change the tone of how we work and live.

My thoughts and prayers go to those who are suffering today, particularly in Japan but elsewhere in the world, as I am blessed with such a wealth of love, warmth and safety in my life, and the opportunity to continue to build.