Yellow Jacket Stings

The pic above is me with the newly delivered 3000 gallon water storage tank. Stay tuned for more pics and details as we install it. Thank heavens for a generous and knowledgable neighbor and for "how to" Youtube videos!

Daily, I go outside to greet the morning - myself and the sky and the earth and the trees. I see how the flowers are blooming and I eat all of the ripe blackberries that I can find. Today I came upon the remains of a small creature that someone else had eaten in the night. Yesterday, I found a new animal trail between some trees and decided to see where it went. I stepped down between a big old redwood stump and an oak tree and suddenly noticed a loud buzzing. "Oh" I thought, there must be a hive somewhere. I couldn't see it until I looked down. Oh no! I had stepped into a yellow jacket's nest. Without further ado, I hightailed it out and away thinking that I had gotten away safely until I felt a sting on my foot. And then my back. Don't worry - I am ok! I got away with just 3 stings and well, yes, they hurt. Sometimes life hurts and we can't always know what will come next. Pleasure and pain blow through life and the question is how can we hold it all in perspective. Sometimes we get stung in the morning because we have unintentionally stepped into something. Pema Chodron wisely said, “Pain is not a punishment and pleasure is not a reward.” Instead we can look for the patterns and lessons in order to move forward with love and grace. Those painful stings reminded me to get an epipen and maybe that action will save someone's life next week. Sometimes our pain needs tending from a doctor, healer, or friend. Our pleasure too needs tending, as pleasure itself can be fraught. Somedays we wake up in pain whether from stepping into something or grief and loss. Life can and does sting. But it never stops there as we can count on the wind shifting. Pleasure and pain blow through life, they are as impersonal as aliveness itself. May your days be full of love and support as you navigate the complete and utter fullness of life.