Serenity

This is a post from my other blog...written March 2006. It works for me today !

Rain is falling in copious amounts this morning. Thunder is shaking the silence, but still there is a feeling of serenity.I thought about that while I was quietly reading. The sound of rain beating on the windows, the wind stirring the new leaves as if they were tiny green kites stuck to tree branches, trying to break loose. Cars passing with that unmistakable sound of driving through deep puddles.Music softly playing in the background, a CD titled "Spa". Relaxing piano music. The spicy smell of red lentil soup simmering on the stove, candles lit, it feels perfectly serene in this moment. The loud thunder having no effect on the moment.Perhaps serenity is deep within ourselves and attaining a serene mind would be something that could not be taken from us in any circumstances.I looked up the definition of serenity and found what I knew..."the absence of mental stress or

anxiety ". Yes, I can see that would be something we could strive to maintain under all circumstances. What practice it would take to achieve ! Having learned long ago that worry is often so much greater than the reality of what unfolds. It has grown to be a worthless mind game to me so I worry less and less each passing year. What I would worry about, what I expected to happen, almost never did. And if something difficult did happen, the worry had been worthless energy spent. You change what you can change and what you can't change, worry does no good.Maybe discovering this is a step to finding more serenity in my life. Aging is indeed a blessing for learning things like that. The rain drops on the rose bushes, reflecting all that is around them. The sight of the tiny globes of water seem to exemplify serenity no matter what is happening around you. Lessons from nature, once again.