Open Season

A couple of months ago I read a book that inspired me to think about our way of being in the world.  I believe in every moment we are either opening ourselves up or closing ourselves off--and I think the goal is to strive to always remain open. 

This simple insight may very well have been the turning point for me as I have since moved into a new season in my life.  Life is grand.  Not just good--it's also larger, grander, than it was.  As a result of making conscious choices to open myself up during many of those times in which my reaction or response tempts me to close up, I find that the world itself opens up before me, mirroring my own actions. 

My life still contains the same amount of stressors and I still continue to work through my own lot of personal issues.  The fact that life is "grand" does not negate those things.  Rather, it gives me a way of rising above the current--whereas, before I kept getting pegged by the crashing waves and getting pulled at by the undertow, I now find that I'm actually surfing! 

A friend of mine talks often about "Living Large."  I am discerning what this concept means for me as I find myself in a season in which my days have a fullness to them that makes life larger than it seems on the surface.  Through this experience I've learned that Living Large, for me, means Living Thoroughly.  My days are much the same as they were prior to this new "season"...but there is a fullness to them that was missing before.  It is a fullness that reflects this sentiment:  at the end of the day there is a contentment that I've really given it my all and I can't ask for anything more.  There is still a laundry list 100 miles long of "things to do" but somehow I've managed to open myself up to the here and now in such a way that it reinforces my trust that everything else will happen all in good time--at least all the necessary things.

I want to squeeze everything I can out of life.  Make the most of every moment.  Completely indulge in life's many blessings with an open heart full of thankfulness and praise.  The only way I can do that is to remain open.