Today I woke up a little cranky. I’m not sure why this happens but on occasion it does. I recognize it and do what I can to love my crankiness back to cheerfulness.

I have learned over the years to sit with the feelings I am having as I am having them. Feel them for awhile, then if they are telling me nothing useful I dismiss them by looking for something that can bring me back to the present moment and to an appreciation and gratitude for Right Now. A bird, my dog, the wind. It’s often nature.

I have noticed that Wednesdays pose a particular challenge for me. There is a definite ebb and flow to my week. This is acutely obvious when I am home – not traveling – and when I am working on a big project. Wednesday is that silence between the waves when everything is suspended for just a breath before a set crashes to shore. It’s the prolonged ebb. Slow, lazy,outgoing ocean.

Wednesdays for me are the soaking point. Water has been poured on my energy since Sunday. It starts as an energizing spritz on the face. Monday I am cleansed with a refreshing shower, energized and ready to go, by Tuesday I am beginning to prune a little and by Wednesday I am covered in  towels soaked with rainwater in a downpour. Luckily the sun begins to dry things up a bit on Thursday, by Friday I am shiny clean and Saturday is nothing but blue skies.

The gift of a life examined while living it is catching the gentle dips and rises in energy. Recognizing not every moment of every day is going to be AWESOME! Realizing that there is always work to do if we are to live fully. Work is service – even if you get paid for it; especially if you don’t.  And sometimes service feels heavy.

What am I to do with this information, this recognition now? I could do nothing. I could force a smile on my face and keep going. Or, likely I will honor this rhythm I have identified as my own and plan accordingly. I will not hibernate on the wet days, I’ll simply allow for them.

It is in the ebb the ocean builds its power. Necessary and natural.

[Photo: Do crows know when it’s Halloween or do we just notice them more then?]