As I was driving, my water bottle fell over. Yep. That's it... but what's interesting here is that this seemingly insignificant occurrence became an important message for me. And it came bearing not one, not two, but THREE lessons within it...
OK so, here's the story. I was driving and I had the bottle standing up against my bag and the back of the passenger seat. It fell over. I picked it up. As I refocused on the road, I noticed in my peripheral it had fallen, again. So I picked it back up. I moved it around, adjusted it some and carried on driving. As I approached a red light, I looked over and saw it fall...AGAIN. I laughed, and left it there.
Now, here comes the important part...
I could have easily gotten annoyed and my day could have taken a quick turn sour if I let this get to me or feed my "story." A story is something we play like a broken record and attach incidents to. For example, I could have said, "Seriously? Why does everything go wrong for me?" Admittedly this sounds silly BUT.... tell me how silly it is when you spill your coffee while you're driving and you're late to work.
So, here is lesson numero uno, compliments of the water bottle: We cannot control the water bottle, aka LIFE. But we can absolutely choose how we respond to it. When we are hit with stimuli, it's our choice to feed our story, fuel our ego-fire, or take it as it comes and respond differently or more peacefully. I chose to see this very non-important occurrence as an opportunity for growth and learning. A water bottle falling over, seemingly meaningless, became a message for me to share. Through the "challenge" (the bottle not staying up) I was able to uncover a hidden gift. We can always choose to find healing, growth and lessons in challenges. That is our choice. And how we handle what comes to us, will dictate the quality of our moods... and our lives.
Secondly, the water bottle became a symbol for the human existence. We will often hit a bump in the road, and fall down. The important part is that we get back up. And yes, we will fall, again. It's inevitable as we ride with the ebb and flow and life that we will go up and down and all around. We will stumble and fall, and that's OK. It's all part of life and expansion and learning our soul lessons.
The third lesson I took away from this 30-second experience was that we are very much like the water bottle in the sense that, just because we fall, doesn't mean we lose our value. When the water bottle fell over, I didn't have to throw it out. It didn't lose its value. It's still water, it's still hydrating, it's still good for the body. It was not tainted in any way. When we "fail" or fall, we do not lose our value or worth as a person. We are not muddied, tainted, or ruined. We still remain intact, we are still priceless and beautiful souls in our human bodies. Falling is part of life; part of being human. What's inside does not in any way, shape, or form, get tarnished. Falling and getting up makes us stronger, not weaker. Remember this when you're having a self-loathing, beat-up session after a stumble-and-fall.
Yes, this can sound very silly from the outside... but any experience we encounter can become meaningful for us. And life holds valuable lessons and messages for us when we are willing to quiet the mind long enough to pay attention and receive them.
So, to recap:
You are a water bottle. Ha. No, but yes... symbolically.
- We cannot control our environment but we can control our response.
- We will hit bumps in the road and fall, and that's OK. What's important is that we get back up.
- Just because we fall, does NOT mean we lose our value or worth. Quite the opposite.
Take this with you as you journey through life and remember.... it may be a bumpy ride, but it's your ride and you get to choose how to view and experience it.
Sending positive vibes your way!
xo
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