Blankie

Confession time. I slept with my blankie all the way up until, hmmm… sometime in middle school I think. Although by the time I was forced to part ways with it (as I recall I was still not exactly keen on parting ways with it), it was hardly a blanket anymore. It was more a shred of cotton maybe that had perhaps been a blanket in its former life. It was barely enough to even hold onto anymore. What more could one expect of something that I had held onto every single night for my entire life up until that point? I could not imagine parting ways with it. Yet after years of my mom’s reasoning, cajoling, begging, pleading, finally one day- with my permission- it disappeared from my life for good- when I wasn’t looking because I just couldn’t.

That blanket was my comfort. It was my security. It was the hug that I needed. It helped me feel at home and safe in the world. What would I do without it? Well now I know. I replaced that blanket with success. Achievement. Accomplishments. Awards. Accolades. Credentials. Degrees. Feats. Titles. Knowledge even. What could be more secure than to know? And there was a point in my life when I was pretty sure that I knew. I had it all figured out, or at least the gist of it, which was enough. I was settled. The entire road ahead of me was clear. Life was settled. All that was left to do was to just play it out.

Only, of course it wasn’t settled at all. Nor would it ever be. I found that out the way most of us eventually do, when the blanket that I had wrapped myself in was ripped from me by forces much greater than myself (thankfully), leaving me standing in nothing but a sea of uncertainty when I was in my mid thirties. But I am stubborn as all get out, so rather than simply give in I just pushed harder and bigger, uncertainty and all. The past fifteen years of my life are a testament to that. I am not going to lie, it’s impressive what I (inclusive of my we with Shannon) have done in that time. That is, if you are impressed by the doing.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not dissing the path I have travelled. There have been a ton of worthwhile endeavors along it. All I am saying is that it’s time to truly let go of my blankie. I don’t need it anymore. As I find myself once more standing before the abyss of uncertainty, I suddenly don’t have a care in the world. By all accounts I should. I should be very worried about my future right about now. But somehow I’m not. Not at all. I feel peaceful. I feel grateful even for the void in front of and all around me. I am more than o.k. with it. It’s not that I think it’s all going to be easy or that everything is going to go down without a hitch. There are bills to pay, a house to sell, a house to overhaul, jobs (or something like that) to find, and on and on. No news there.

My former version of myself would be racing to do all of the above, to fill the void as thoroughly and grandly as possible. But now… I just find myself sitting here. Waiting. Waiting to see what is going to happen next. It’s a curious thing, this turn of events. All I can really say is that the Universe has my attention. And I am vigilant this time to not fill it with knowing, or needing to know even. I think I’ll just patiently sit here. Hang out with my inner 5 year old child. Let her know that she doesn’t need that blankie anymore because I’ve got her. She’s safe. I’m safe. Life is safe. No matter what happens, it’s all o.k.

Yesterday I had a meeting over hiking with a professor at UVM who is working on the same sort of things I have been working on in the world. First off, yes, we actually met over hiking, not coffee. Thank you Universe for sending me such a beautiful soul to reinforce my peace in so many ways. Just now Shannon and I returned from a Dharma Talk at the Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community, which we are trying out. Thank you Universe for supporting the founding of this community in our backyard just a year ago. I feel a resonance there. Thank you also for sending me yet another beautiful soul to reinforce my peace through his sharing and the reminder of Jiddu Krishnamurti’s secret to maintaining peace and joy in life:

“I do not mind what happens.”

That sums up this moment for me perfectly. I do not mind what is happening nor what is going to happen, or even not happen for that matter. It’s all o.k. All of it. I’m open. I see the blank slate before me, and I don’t need my blankie.