Take it "Easy"

Get More Done With Ease

The word “Ease” has been rising with me each morning, lately, and sitting with me throughout the day. Her little sister, “Easy” is not far behind. Their attachment to me is charming, but also a bit foreign. After all, I am a solid Capricorn. Tomorrow, I celebrate many years of working darn hard to rise above a childhood of poverty and hopelessness. And I can see where the grit and toil has paid off – writing books, earning pilot’s licenses, running businesses, and raising well-adjusted children all require a certain amount of fortitude. These are things I am passionate about, and so it was easy to give my all for them.

But what about Ease? I think ease is undervalued in our society. Ease deserves its season in our days, our years, our lives. Ease is like the padding that allows our dreams to arrive whole, without damage.

Sometimes, at the end of the day, I look back and think, “Hmm, I didn’t get much done today.” And then I think, “For someone who doesn’t do much in a day, you sure have done a lot!” At least that’s what people tell me, that I’ve done a lot. And I’ve made a fair amount of missteps….

Nowadays, I walk more surely by making time for Ease. For it is in the skirts of Ease that we find renewal, vision, rejuvenation, and inspiration. It is in her arms that the magic – yes, the magic – happens.

When I speak of Ease, however, it is not the same as relaxing in front of the TV or scrolling endlessly through your phone. Ease that reaps bounty and holds magic is . . . She who watches clouds, She who listens to leaves, She who cherishes the dark night, She who sits alone in the stillness, She who writes her dreams down before they fade. The magic is found, not in the doing, but in the not-doing.

This is so counter to modern day society, to our want-more, get-shit-done mentality.

Tom Waits once said, about the creative process, “It’s like fishing… you have to be real quiet to catch the big ones.” I would argue that every process is a creative process, whether it be laying stones, or writing songs, or just living life. Regardless of the setting or the situation, we can make it arduous, or we can make it Easy, to “catch the big ones” - i.e., Joy, Peace, Hope, Creativity, etc. (note that money and success don’t make the list of “Big Ones” – at least not in my book).

Ease, as applied to my days, is the accepting of trials and challenges with grace. Sometimes I get tired. Sometimes I cry. Sometimes I am deeply hurt. But always I hold my thoughts and feelings and reactions with Ease, and grace. I “apply more love” (remember: my favorite motto!) to myself and to others.

Ease, as applied to my years, is accepting the cycle of things. People come and go. Places and times come and go. I remember, always, my connection to the great mother - our earth mother - and, as She, I cherish the new growth of spring, the ripeness of summer, the fading of fall, and the cool, dark, deep renewal phase of winter. Each phase of the year has its beauty, and each is interdependent on the others.

Ease, as applied to my life, is fully feeling the joy of my personal story. Like the seasons of Mother Earth, and the seasons of Grandmother Moon, I rejoice in the process of growth, fullness, aging, and darkness. I find Ease in not-fearing, not-regretting, and not-wishing for eternal youth. It is Easy, and beautiful, to embrace all of it. Even death, when it comes, with it’s final, powerful reconnection to source. All of this I welcome with the open arms of Ease.

My call to you, today, is to welcome in Ease. Sit with Easy. Let the sheer abundance of life-unharried wash over you like an ocean wave, cleansing, renewing, purifying, filling with Joy - this moment, this day, this year, this life.

With Blessings, Love, and Ease,

Cate