Embracing the Flow of Life

Summer weddings… I’ve been to a few this summer but this weekend was a special treat, seeing one of my childhood girlfriends unite with her life-partner on a mountain over looking the Encinitas area in Southern California. We all stayed at a local resort, La Costa, which to my surprise, had the Chopra Center on its grounds.

First thing Friday morning I woke early to go to a meditation session. It was a 30 minute guided meditation that left me energized all day. I browsed some of the books and DVD’s in the center, then had a leisurely morning sipping tea and catching up on work in my room. Then I realized I was hungry.. and antsy that we were spending so much time inside - I wanted to get food, explore the area and see some beaches - now! As I waited by the valet for my car, starting to get annoyed it was taking so long, another car pulled up and to my surprise, Deepak Chopra himself stepped out. I don’t consider myself the type of person to get star-struck and weird around celebrities (not that I see them that often) but I felt almost giddy just being nearby. Mr Chopra was gracious enough to take a picture with me when I approached and told him I was a big fan. I could feel the heat rise in my face as we took the photo (I also suppressed the urge to hug him…I’m a hugger you know).

Most of my friends, although they had no idea who he was, were excited for me… one friend said - “oh - I have a friend who’s all into him - he writes weird stuff”. No matter, because actually, it was a pretty deeply moving experience for me…not so much the handshake and picture, but the over-the-top billboard sign (in the form of Deepak Chopra) that the universe gave me in response to questions I meditated on just that morning. The chance meeting was not as chance as one might think. In fact, it now seems quite clear and deliberate.

The entire trip was filled with special moments, things that reminded me how rich life is all the time, even when it may seem mundane. But it requires that we stay in the present and accept and embrace where we are at each moment. I was reminded how easy it is to fall into the negativity traps that surround us when things are seemingly not going our way. But giving in to those feelings is like swimming upstream - when you start complaining, you fight where you are and take yourself out of the “flow”, meaning, the opportunity for synchronicity. For example, while La Costa was gorgeous, the service lacked in a few ways - yet if it had not taken extra long to get our car, I wouldn’t have had my meeting with Deepak Chopra. And there was a very hip pool with water slides near the bar, yet it was so filled with yelling kids, I felt driven to the other side of the resort - where we discovered and appreciated the amazing serenity of the Tranquility pool, where we hung out for the rest of the trip. And if my girlfriend’s original plan of getting married on the beach hadn’t fallen through, we may not have had the stillness of the mountain allowing us to hear the bride and groom’s words spoken so softly and beautifully to each other and the light may not have filled her veil just perfectly.

It takes practice, but resisting the urge to fight with your current situation and embracing the flow of life seems to pay off in ways we might never expect.