Tacking into the Wind

Have you ever seen a sailboat change course to come into the wind? The heavy boom swings from one side of the boat to the other and the big sails flap wildly, everyone is rushing around pulling ropes and yelling. But then the sails fill with the wind and the boat takes off with grace and speed, confident in the course. That's called tacking into the wind.

It happens when I've made a big shift in my thinking. What I experience is a series of events that would ordinarily have been upsetting. A car almost hits me but drives safely and easily into a yard. I'm late for training, but they wait for me. There's usually a series of events that just lasts three or four days.

It's almost like they are shadows of the old way of thinking that manifest. They look dramatic, but come out well. I notice that they are opportunities to practice my new way of thinking and choose the new. Some would say life is testing us, but we are the captain of our ship so nobody, including the Universe or Life, "does" anything to us.

As a matter of fact, I can tell I have made a shift when these things happen. When I keep my thoughts focused on where I want to go and stay positive, I come out the other side in my new place. It's kind of fun watching these events go by and knowing they are the last hurrah of the old. I tell myself I'm just tacking into the wind.