Living in Ease

Remember the easy days of childhood when the only pressing thing you had to be concerned about was getting home before dark? I remember sitting high up in the branches of our massive apple tree, it cradling me as if I were a baby. I was queen up in that tree and everyone below were my servants; and they lived in my kingdom. Everything was easy. If I was hungry, I would pick a red ripe apple with no worm holes and nibble it down to the core. If I wanted a basket, I would grab a bunch of the taut cane reeds by the lake and weave one. Life was lived with ease, even when Mom was uptight because my room wasn't clean.

I would pretend I was Cinderella and that my wicked step mom was making me clean my room. Imaging and pretending made cleaning so much fun. Imaging and pretending was also empowering. I was creating a world of my own, with my own rules. I would clean my room with ease.

CHILDHOOD PASSED

When I grew to a responsible young adult, living life with ease wasn't even something that I could fathom. I was no longer the baby in the apple tree; I was the mother taking care of the baby. If I wanted a basket, I would have to go buy one, with baby in tow. When you have children, you are always doing.

I have realized that even though I have gotten older, and that life can get hectic, I can live with ease. It's all in the perception. If you perceive that going to the grocery store with the baby is going to be difficult, it most likely will be. If you perceive that you are going to the grocery store with ease, it can magically happen, too.

EASE INTO EASE

If things begin to feel uptight, you and only you can change the perception into ease. When you are uptight, just let the frustration go and see that the rest of your day will be met with ease. You're not fooling yourself. You are setting a standard for yourself to live life with ease. Living life with ease is a joy, and is worth the mental retraining that has to be done in order to live easily.

See the ease of the day, from the second you awake to the second you head to bed. When I look back and think about my memories from when I was a child ¯ the apple tree, the lake, the baskets that I wove ¯ I perceived everything with ease. If I hadn't, all the climbing, all the cleaning of muddy shoes, all the baskets that took a long time to weave could have been perceived as hard and tiresome.

It's all in how you look at life. Look at your life with ease and see the wonders and miracles that will change in your everyday life.

Sure, it can be a challenge, especially when you are filling out the tedious tax returns or talking to that friend who seems to have the uncanny ability to call you right in the middle of dinner. See these moments through ease and eventually everything will just merge into ease.

When my grandparents were alive, I recall my grandma (whom we called Gannie) watching my grandpa (we called him Gramps) change a tire in the driveway. He was carrying on about how he was so sick and tired of always changing flats. This was during a time when flats were more common than a hot meal.

He just kept getting more uptight until Gannie said to her cussing husband, "Why are you making it so hard? Why not just make it easy. Live with ease, Marvin." He looked up at her and said, "There's an idea Ruth. Why don't YOU change the tire?!"

She looked at him and they both laughed. He had released the tension and changed the tire with ease.

So try it; release frustration, expect ease, and life will give you ease on a platter.