Late one evening a few weeks ago, I shifted some books to get to the volume they were hiding - Melody Beattie's "More Language of Letting Go." This is one of my favorite devotionals, and I like to read the daily entry before I go to sleep. On this particular night, I read about an experience Melody had when learning to skydive. The landing area they were using had only one tree, and so given the size of the area, it should be easy to miss the tree. But Melody noticed during this skydive that as she got closer and closer to the landing area, she could not take her eyes off the tree...until lo it came to pass that she went straight into the tree! A more experienced jumper explained to her that "you'll always go to where you look. Look at something long enough to be aware of the potential for trouble, but don't fixate on the object. If you don't want to land on top of something, quit staring at it so hard."
Click. I could feel the gears of awareness meshing in my soul - "you'll always go where you look...if you don't want to land on top of something, quit staring at it so hard."
How easy it is to focus on problems and challenges with an intensity that causes us to land on top of them. Perhaps a better strategy is to look long enough to be aware of the potential trouble, and then to shift focus to where we want to land. It sure sounds worth a try - I, for one, am tired of the all the cuts and bruises gained by my arboreal extrications.
I felt a deep sense of peace as this new/old teaching seeped into my bones. Old dog, new tricks...nice. Then I noticed that one of the books I moved to get to Melody's devotional was Peck's "The Road Less Traveled." I felt drawn to take it off the book shelf several months ago, (which was odd, given the fact that the last time I read it was back in the '80s). I now had a sense that it was time to read it again, so over the next week I made it through Part One (it was ok), and Part Two (better, but still a mystery as to why I was reading it now). I finished Part Three wondering if I had totally misheard the invitation to read this book, but then I got to Part Four, and knew exactly where I was called to fix my gaze...(to be continued...)...
Where is the focus of your attention? Do you keep hitting the tree (again and again), or are you landing safely in the place you heart is leading you to? Notice where you fix your gaze - and adjust accordingly.
Practicing safe landings,
Kim
