Dancing With Life

Life is mostly beyond our control. When we resist that, we suffer. When we dance with it, we thrive.

Hi beautiful being,

I don’t know why, but autumn has a history of speaking to me. Year-after-year, unlike the other three seasons, it teaches, invites, and expands me. 2019’s message, for instance, was: Let something fall away, because there’s something new to be birthed within you. That was what led me to get a Doctorate in Leadership and Spiritual Formation, as a prelude to becoming certified in life coaching and soul care. While that one was basically personal to me, this year’s seems more universal—so I’d like to share it with you. 2024’s lesson is:

Accept, be content, and dance with the way things are.

(I took the pictures at roughly the same spot and time on back-to-back days)

While that might seem pretty straightforward, it’s quite shocking how often us humans resist, get frustrated with, dislike, or are upset with things that are literally beyond our control. Consider the amount of power a person has over things like:

The weather

Who is elected president

The opinions and beliefs of others

The changing of the seasons

Their body type and proportions

The choices and actions of others

The tide and ocean waves

Whether their body ages, and goes through things like menopause, or not

The colorfulness, or lack thereof, of the sunrise and sunset

Getting cancer

Puberty

Whether they, and everyone they know, will die or not

Anything that has already happened

Most everything that will happen

Naturally this list could go on and on, with things like illness, when the sun rises, how other people drive, whether your team wins or not, what others say, and so on. Do you know what I mean?

When we dislike, resist, or fight the way things are—we suffer.

What is more, suffering has a snowball effect to it. You see, our “suffering” doesn’t like to be alone in its hurt, so—in some way, shape, or form—it likes to drag others into its misery. At the risk of repeating myself, I’ll ask again: Do you know what I mean?

Now, I’d like to circle back to what autumn is revealing: Accept, be content, and dance with the way things are. What I’ve written thus far centers on the first two parts of this lesson. The “dancing” piece, though, is where your agency and ability to make a difference comes into play. Take someone whose opinions and beliefs are different from yours, for instance. You can “waltz” with that by being curious about the stories, experiences, and whys behind the way they are.

Likewise, I turn fifty in December, and my body is not the same as it was 5, 10, or 20 years ago. I groove with that by cutting back on my desserts, making workouts a priority, embracing my bald spot, accepting the tides of change with my virility, and so on.

Expanding on that note, two people dear to me could be dying from cancer. Dancing in this regard means—grieving, hoping, encouraging, weeping, raging, accepting, hoping, empathizing, standing with, and loving.

That said, I’m keen to hear: What does accepting, being content with, and dancing with the way things are mean to you?

Hugs & Love,

Lang (aka “Dr. Love”)

P.S. Did you know that clicking the “like” button 🤍 helps other people find this post—while bringing a smile to my face? Also, if you think this could aid anyone, please consider sharing and/or “restacking” it. And above all, remember: You are amazing, and I hope you have a beautiful day!