It’s ALL Part of the Plan

I’m taking inspiration for this week’s post from the weather. It’s the perfect example of something that affects me daily but is totally beyond my control.

Naturally, I have my preferences, as most of us do.

I’m in the minority in that I like the cold, wet, cloudy, grey and dark. Generally, I disagree every time a friend declares the forecast to be fabulous or miserable. What can I say? I’m a misfit. I find the moon and clouds to be enchanting and the sun something to be avoided. If everyone is headed for the beach, I’d rather be inside and vice versa.

Yet I recognize that all of it is part of the Plan.

Not my plan, mind you. Else we’d have winter 6 months of the year and 2 weeks of summer. Fortunately for you, there is Nature’s Plan. And I believe it’s all part of that Plan, even the weather we dislike and the disruptions it brings.

Recently I changed a visit to my parents’ house because intense rain was predicted during my drive. As much as I enjoy the rain most of the time, I don’t love it when I’m on the highway and I can’t see well. Hindsight proved the forecast to be somewhat alarmist, and the extreme showers didn’t occur until hours later. I could have easily gone when I had originally intended to and not experienced any more anxiety than I normally have when hurtling down the road at high speeds amongst a bunch of strangers.

A few days ago, I hoped to go for a hike, but it was crazy windy and quite cold. I postponed my trip to the woods and went the next day when it was warmer than I’d have liked, but still part of the Plan. It was also crazy muddy because of all that rain, and I was tempted to bemoan the soggy trail and the mess my boots would make when I returned to the car.

And then I remembered this too is part of the Plan.

I later saw a hint of the Plan. Lush spring-green plants growing in the mud, just like lotus flowers do. You can’t have one without the other.

And the little creek was bursting.

As I often tell my clients who wonder where their ailments originated, this information is often above my pay grade. I don’t know the Plan. Why should I? I’m a mere intern and Mother Nature the CEO. She doesn’t explain herself to me.

Letting go of the idea that certain conditions are “good” and others “bad” is easier when you trust that there is a benevolent force who has a Plan which is simply not my business to know.

I’m attempting to stop fighting against the Divine Plan. I don’t always succeed, and I certainly don’t always like the weather conditions. I didn’t love the mud I encountered unexpectedly today or the gnats that circled my head while I was sitting in the (shady!) grass getting grounded. But I caught myself and (mostly!) let go of my complaints. Who am I to say that gnats and mud aren’t part of the Plan?