Is It All Blue Skies?

I've got a child with quirks, Asperger's we're calling it right now. Among other challenges, he has an inability to see the big picture. What that means for a 9 year old doing school work, relating to other kids, dealing with siblings and parents, interacting with the world at large--I can't really know. Can you imagine not being able to see the big picture? What would life be like if you couldn't see the sun through the clouds? Walking my kids to the bus stop this morning I felt the energy in my body swirling, my muscles tense, my breath shallow just from the routine of getting three kids up, fed, dressed, and prepared for school. Hugs and kisses and the bus pulled away...and I could hear birds. The air was cool on my arms. I started walking and I noticed the sky. It seemed large, vast even. Looking up I noticed my breath reach my belly. I audibly exhaled. Life is good! I wasn't connected to that just moments ago, but I have the ability to pull myself out of the moment and see that big, beautiful picture.

I think there are a lot of people, people without Asperger's or any other disorder, that cannot take the macro view of life on this plane. Life's stresses and hardships overcome them and they get stuck--stuck in the moment of struggle. And one moment bleeds in to the next, in a seemingly endless fight to just get through. I would propose that this actually IS a disorder (well, probably called depression in many cases). A condition most certainly worth remedying.

Money is tight, we're sick, our to-do list is daunting, the toilet is overflowing, the car breaks down, we're late--life is overwhelming.

Put your feet on the Earth. There is life happening beneath that soil. Every tree, every flowering bush, every blade of grass is pulsing with life-force energy. The squirrel is scrambling from one side of the street to the other. I wonder what for? It's so easy to think that our problems are so big, that everything revolves around us. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the details and the minutia.

What is the big picture?

I look around and feel that I am a part of a massive interwoven network of life. My deadlines and responsibilities are important, but they're not why I'm here. I was put here to make a difference, we all were. Whether it's for one person or for the world. The big picture is, IT'S ALL OKAY.