The many gifts around us

Today is the fifteenth day of the first month of the year that the albatross visited the northern hall.¹

Every now and again I spend my morning writing time going through my list of “doctrines,” as I’ve called them. It’s a magical process. I say that because when I do this exercise, I somehow always manage to find the one thought that will unravel the knot into which my mind has been tying itself.

Today that that thought was found in the one I call “Gifts Around Us.” These words, for me, encapsulate the idea that every situation — every situation — is a gift. Especially the less-than-pleasant ones. It reminds me that each challenge, each crisis, carries within it the seed of transformation.

Generally I would read that and say to myself, “Sure, that makes sense,” and without a second thought go on carping about this problem or that. But this morning it caught me up short and reminded me to think through the situation I’d been wrestling with, and to find and express the gratitude for the transformation that comes with challenges — particularly this one.

This thought reminds me to seek understanding rather than a quick solution. It causes me to consider meaning, and to build a narrative that supports the kind of person I’d really like to be. It causes me to return to what I call the shamanistic mindset.

If this is you today, what with Mercury doing God Knows What and everything else that might be going wrong, then I encourage you to try this. I encourage you to see if you can look at your challenge, your big problem, as a gift that is waiting for you to begin unwrapping.

And of course, if you catch me griping, be gentle as you remind me of this truth.

My very best,

Philip

1. See Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke. I am entranced by this book. Thanks to my wife for sharing it with me. The audiobook is nothing short of hypnotic.