Flow

You know that phrase? “When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.”

Well, that lesson was served up in spades this past weekend when two WANDERS got derailed by 30 MPH gale force winds and white out blizzard conditions that had us abandoning plans to snowshoe to a cozy cabin for an intimate morning of workshops.

In a showing of true power and fury, Mother Nature swooped in with her lessons in surrender and going with life’s flow. We WANDERed in a raging snowstorm with beautiful soulsisters who embraced the unexpected adventure, and glowed with it.

I’ll admit it — there were a few moments of doubt and total shut down. As we stared into the white out from the safety of our car, one participant pipped up, “we could always just reschedule.” I knew that wasn’t an option. After the effort of programming, communicating dates, booking people and getting them to show up, there was no way. It was do or die.

“No, let’s just snowshoe up here for a bit and then we can turn around whenever we want,” I said in a cheerful voice. A few people exchanged wary sidelong glances. But they suited up anyway and before we knew it, we were plodding uphill into the blizzard.

Then something magical happened. We warmed up. We got a rhythm to our stride. And the coldness seemed to dissipate as we mounted the switchback road through tall conifers and a hush that was surreal, leaving fresh tracks in the newly-fallen powder.

We came to a turn where the roadway dipped down and we were sheltered from the snow. There, in the elbow of the road, we paused and took in the enchantment of being alone in the high mountains with Mother Nature unleashing her power and beauty around us. We actually meditated there – called in the energy of the universe and had a moment that left us breathless, connected and revitalized by the sheer awesomeness of the situation.

When we finally turned around and headed back to the hotel for Plan B — a fireside lunch and impromptu workshop on numerology (somehow a group member was an expert….hello synchronicity!) I don’t think anyone was disappointed by the outcome.

Being open to the flow means you might think you know what you want, but you actually get what you need. Sometimes it’s about relinquishing control, being grateful for the journey, welcoming the unexpected, and making that lemonade.