I was meditating this morning, and I heard the school bus slow down in front of my neighbor’s house. As I sat comfortably with my coffee still sleepy, I thought man… if I was a kid getting up this early and getting on the bus, I’d probably fall asleep. It’s the first few days of fall, it’s a bit chilly, and a little dark outside. Perfect sleeping weather.
I remembered a story my friend told me. She worked for the local school districts transportation department. She told me that it was common for kids to fall asleep on the bus and miss their stop. They’d put in a hard day, got on the bus, and fell fast asleep. She told me one time a driver got all the way back to the bus barn only to find a little boy had slid down in his seat and was fast asleep. By this time, it was getting close to supper time and dark. I can’t imagine how disoriented that little guy must have been when she woke him up. He probably thought where in the world am?! What happened?!
He was from the tired daily routine, sat down, got warm, comfortable, and fell asleep and missed his stop.
Where in your life have you become too comfortable and fallen asleep? Missed your stop? Missed an opportunity to experience something new? Maybe you’ve stayed at a job too long? Stayed in a relationship that you know has become unhealthy? Or maybe you’ve just got too comfortable. Not making any new choices, putting things off, stopped challenging yourself, dismissed the calls of expansion. Maybe you’ve become “stuck.”
Now is the perfect time as we roll into the longer days and darkness of winter to start taking an inventory of where we might have fallen asleep on our journey.
Where have we become far too comfortable accepting our limiting beliefs. “Things will never change” “I guess it will always be this way” “this is just how my life goes” “I’ll just wait and do it later”.
These are some of the thoughts I can find myself having from time to time. For a moment they give me comfort. I know if I don’t explore those thoughts, feel the feelings, it won’t be long before I find myself feeling like I am waking up in a cold bus barn!
That’s where our suffering or stories would like us to be though. In darkness, alone, stuck, or asleep.
It takes awareness to stay awake. A good meditation practice or perhaps a revamp of your current Spiritual Practice is in order.
This is something I had found recently. My meditations weren’t as revitalizing as they used to be. It wasn’t until Spirit guided me to pick up an old book, that I realized my practice had become a bit stale.
I changed some things up, reconnected in a new way and was instantly surprised at how much a few adjustments changed everything.
I had fallen asleep in my comfortable routine. Now with a little more awareness and a refreshed morning routine, I’m now excited to see where else I may have dozed off a bit.
Where else can I make some small adjustments?
So perhaps as we move into Fall and Winter use these longer days to explore and discover. Seek the places within yourself where you might have become too comfortable. This is the time to go within, look around, and take note. Find those shadow parts of you that hide in the darkness. Shine a light on them, discover them, embrace them.
In your awareness and healing you will be ready for expansion. You’ll make room for new seeds of desire to plant, and you’ll be ready to experience the joy of watching your dreams bloom.
