Holding on too tightly to expectations of just about anything can trap us in a cycle of frustration and despair. And often our expectations are really ways we're trying to be in control of a situation rather than surrendering ourselves to the unfolding moment. Of course, our ability to control many circumstances so they will be just the way we want them is often beyond us. And so perhaps we might cultivate a kind of openness to the way things actually are combined with a fierce kind of intention to bring ourselves to whatever is happening with as much of our essential goodness as we can, whether that be courage, tenderness, creativity, love, truthfulness or any other of the many virtues available to human beings.

This week's Turning Towards Life is a conversation about meeting the always unexpected happenings of life with grace and presence. It's hosted as always by Lizzie Winn and Justin Wise of Thirdspace.

Here's a link to the details of the new Thirdspace Coaching For Development programme for people who work in organisations, which we talked about a couple of episodes ago.

Here's our source for this week:

Knee Sounds

The older I get the more I noticeknee soundsmy own quiet desiresdumb egosbaby’s sharp intuitionthe return of the blackberriesboneheaded binaries.Sometimes I long for an organized draweror a morning without the realization that one went to school with unbrushed teethbut then I remember how short life ishow wide my forgivenessmostly of othersmore and more myself.The noticing is mostly small.Sometimes it’s big.This life I walk throughis not what I expected.How could I have imagined her first questions upon waking or his tender body?How could I have known I would birth my own much-needed teacher on solitude?Or care so much about those two red poppies?Aging is a long, drawn out experiment in being wrong about how you will live, who you will be, what you will love and seeand love and see and love and seeand that’s okay.It’s more than okay.Each day unpromised and fecund.
I am worse than I thoughtand also better.Humanity, too.When the violence is too muchI touch a lot of tree trunkseat some more bread.watch my kids sleep their sweaty sleepand try not to let any of ittragic or tenderfeel inevitable.

Courtney Martin
courtneyemartin.com/writing/

Photo by Harli Marten on Unsplash