Finding Perfection in Perceived Chaos
Every so often I catch myself wondering when things will "calm down." In those times I remember that my perspective of life is what can "calm down," not necessarily the events that occur. And when I can remember that my thoughts create my experience, I get it. I'm able to see Divine Perfection amid my perceived chaos. Much of the time at least. Here’s an example I remember from a few years ago.
I decided to go to IKEA about 50 miles from home on a Friday afternoon and talked my strong son into coming (someone had to lift those boxes). My plan was simple: drive an hour, grab something to eat, quickly locate what I needed, check out and be back home before the afternoon rush hour began. I’d have plenty of time to go home, change and attend the visitation at the local funeral home that evening. All was good. Or so I thought.
But Life happened. We were late leaving the house, there was a problem with lunch, I couldn’t find all the items I wanted, and there was a HUGE issue with what I’d envisioned as a “speedy” checkout process at the store. Of course we were late leaving, which put us in the middle of the worst rush hour traffic in the country. Great. For a few minutes I was concerned about the snarled traffic, frantic fellow drivers, missing the funeral visitation and inconveniencing my son.
Then I remembered there is Divine Perfection in every moment.
And I started to look for it.
Amid the chaos of the grueling traffic, my son and I had a beautiful heartfelt conversation about our life and career goals over the next few years. He shared some sensitive and loving insights into his life that touched my heart as I realized (again) what an incredible guy he is.
We had taken a back road thinking we’d miss some of the traffic – but a thousand commuters had the same thought, so we continued to crawl along the scenic back roads toward home. We saw magnificent landscapes we’d never noticed when we typically whizzed by at 55+ miles per hour. We saw majestic trees, interesting homes, and fascinating looking people in cars next to us. We listened to music and sang along to familiar songs. What I had feared would be a nightmare ride became the best part of the day. I saw the Divine Perfection in it.
I not only made it home in time to pay my respects at the funeral home, but my husband and I even managed a late romantic dinner. I realized my experience of the day would have been drastically different if I had allowed anger or frustration to take over when my carefully crafted plan had been changed.
The gift of this day was that I was able to understand how Divine Perfection exists in chaotic situations, which resulted in a deep inner peace for me.
I do realize not all “chaos” is equal, as most people view it. For me, I figure when I can find the Divine Perfection in a chaotic afternoon, I’ll have a better chance of remembering that truth on much tougher days.
OK, God...I get it. You do have this Life thing. I'm going to concentrate on allowing the good to surface in situations instead of micromanaging every detail. And I know the greater good is there whether I can recognize it or not. I’m trusting in the Divine Perfection of it all.