Listen to the Rain
Alexandra Windsong, June 2015
© June 2015 Alexandra Windsong, All Rights Reserved

June 4, 2015

This is the first spring in our new house. We've been busy, planting fruit trees, berry bushes and other plants, working on our long term vision of turning our yard into a food forest. Today I wanted to work in the yard, planting more of the bushes, plants and trees we've ordered in the last month. It ain't happening. Didn't happen yesterday either.

It didn't happen yesterday because, well, I just didn't feel like it. And as much as I wanted to get more plants in the ground, it was cold and dreary and I just couldn't face working outside. My energy levels were low and I was tired. So, I puttered around the house in the a.m. while the electrician was here working, puttered around in the afternoon too for a while, and then took a nap. I consoled myself with the thought that tomorrow I would get lots of things planted. Then I woke up this morning to rain, great for all the plants I got into the ground earlier in the week, not so great for working outside today.

For a while I entertained the notion of working outside in between the "off and on showers" that had been predicted. Then by mid-morning it became clear, that what had been forecasted as showers here and there throughout the day was really going to be a steady rain -- all. day. long . So I gave in and went to plan B -- puttering around the house again, only doing what I felt like doing in the moment. And it's always very interesting what happens when I do that . . .  I get lots of things done.

I remember reading an article a while back about procrastination that made an argument for doing what you feel like doing in the moment and not forcing yourself to do things you don't feel like doing. The point being, that odds are, if you try to force yourself to work on something you're not really in the mood to do, you're more likely to waste a lot of time with various procrastination strategies, and you'll get very little done anyway. On the other hand, if you put your energy into what you feel like doing, you'll not only get more accomplished in the long run, you'll feel less stressed out to boot.

As much as I wanted to work in the yard and get all of those plants in the ground yesterday, I was tired. So I listened to my body and to the weather and did something else. I rested. I puttered. And you know what? In all that puttering I made quite a dent in sorting threw some papers and unpacking some more boxes. Projects I hadn't gotten very far with in the past because I hadn't felt like doing them before. But yesterday, for whatever reason, I did feel like it, and I made a lot of progress in a very short period of time.

And then this morning, I listened to the rain, and instead of working outside, something my energy levels still probably weren't up to even if it weren't raining, I suddenly felt inspired to work on my next newsletter, another thing that hadn't been happening for a little while because, well, I just hadn't been in the mood. Every time I thought about writing another article or newsletter, I would feel resistant. It felt forced, and I knew if I tried to force it, I'd waste a lot of time thinking about how I didn't feel like doing it, and I wouldn't get very far anyway. And more than likely, if I forced it, it wouldn't be very good either. But this morning, it just flowed onto the page, easy peasy.

Four days later . . .

So I got to the end of the paragraph above and didn't feel like writing anymore. So I didn't. I went and did something else for the next few days. And now that I feel inspired and in the mood, I've come back to finish this article. And it's easy again. I stopped at the point where my energy and inspiration ran out, when I hit the wall and it felt like work rather than flowing effortlessly. Instead of trying to push through the resistance, I turned my energies to something I did feel like doing and got lots of other things done, including that yard work I didn't' feel like doing on Wednesday or Thursday.

And this is the lesson I've been learning -- to go with the flow: to honor my resistance, whatever the reason; to listen to my body, my mood, and yes, the weather. When I do all of these things, life flows more smoothly for me, whatever I'm doing is more enjoyable, less stressful and doesn't feel like such a chore. And I really do get more accomplished this way without feeling so stressed out, much more than I would if I'd continued to push myself through whatever resistance I was feeling at the time.

So remember it's okay to listen to the rain. . . . to flow with the energies of the season, of your body, your heart and your soul. It isn't a race. You don't have to get everything done all at once, and you don't have to measure up to someone else's idea of how you should be spending your time and what you should be accomplishing. Listen to the rain, to your heart and to your soul.

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Alexandra is a healer, intuitive and life coach. For more information about Alexandra Windsong, contact her at 301-606-2607 or email or visit http://www.alexandrawindsong.com.