Photo by Milada Vigerova
In 2013, I wrote a piece for The Beauty Bean about giving oneself permission to lose control. I can't believe it's been two years since the piece was published. This year has been a year of opening life's gifts without knowing what I may receive. I have met amazing people, explored new places, celebrated the birth of friends' babies, planned events that impact lives, and received weird texts (that's a story for another day). In each situation, I only had an ounce of control.
Last week, one of my best friends Shelley and I decided to take a little outside stroll. The North Carolina heat broke for a day and the air was finally cool and crisp. The clouds covered the sun all day but not in a way that showed signs of rain. We discussed life as usual. We talked about her sweet baby girl Penny, who we all would meet in a few weeks. She asked me about my dating life (nothing too exciting on that end, folks. I'm sorry to disappoint.), and I asked her how her and Corey's house renovations were coming along. We were deep in conversation and hadn't noticed the storm clouds creep into the sky. I didn't recall rain on my weather app. But, in all honesty, I never checked it. Before we began our final loop, the skies opened. We didn't even get a sprinkle warning.
Shelley and I looked at each other and laughed. There was no escaping the torrential downpour. We couldn't control the distance to my car or tell the rain to give us a minute. Our minds and bodies finally embraced the cool drops that fell hard from the dark sky. We were drenched. (Drenched is actually an understatement.) In that moment, we gave up control because control wasn't ours to begin with.
Waddling our way back to my car with the sound of water squishing through the soles of our shoes, I was reminded of the beauty of letting go and losing control. I naturally looked for the lesson in the uncontrollable rain. I saw it as a gift instead of an inconvenience. It was giving the earth a drink and giving a reprieve from the atrocious heat. I try to look at all of the moments in my life with this mindset. A few months ago, someone told me, "I am really working on my control and trying to allow life to happen." It's okay to plan, but know that your plans could be turned upside down. You may unexpectedly fall in love, find a new job, lose a job, move across the country, have a baby, or lose someone who has half your heart. Open your soul to those unexpected and uncontrollable moments. Embrace the joy of love finding you. Acknowledge the pain of losing something. Accept the gift of new life. Being grateful for those uncontrollable circumstances could ultimately change the course of your life, and the life of someone else, in a glorious way.