Thursday, December 25, 2008  10:00am Christmas Day
It dawned drizzly and foggy this Christmas Day.  I’d taken a pre-dawn ride to the beach to check the surf, and all the streets and buildings looked as though they had been washed clean overnight.   I sat at the stairs to one of the beach accesses south on the boardwalk and not another soul was in sight.   I was glad I had a flannel shirt and hat in the car, since there was a lot of fog and mist.  I sat at the top of the steps for about 30 minutes, just hearing the roar of the ocean seeing it as best I could in the emerging twilight, and thinking how lucky I am to have the life I have.  Before I got in the car, I took off my flannel shirt and hat and was surprised to find them both soaked through.  How did that happen?

It reminded me of what it has taken for me to change some ingrained beliefs to beliefs that better serve me.   I can’t always take it all in at once, some things have to to be introduced to me slowly, progressively, a little at a time.  Kind of like the fog settling onto my coat as I walk in it.  I barely feel it at the time, but I end up being saturated and soaked through.

That can happen for better and for worse.  We can gradually climb ever higher on the Path and gradually become more conscious and responsible, or we can gradually lull ourself into a rut.  My life now is a lot different than my life was 10 years ago or even 5 years ago.  I feel that I am always peeling off layers that no longer serve me, always remembering that the layers are indeed the onion 🙂  I like to initiate change in my life, and challenge my beliefs.  I like to learn what other people think and believe, and what they want out of life.  I like to help them bridge that gap between where they are right now, and where they want to be.