Yesterday morning, after I woke up and made a cup of chai tea, I spilled it on my furry slippers. It was odd, but I thought nothing of it. I was simply too tired. Before I got into the shower, I noticed brown on my slippers, and thought this was strange. But it wasn’t until I got into the shower and washed my feet, particularly my right foot and saw something brown on there that wouldn’t come off.
It wasn’t dog poop or any type of animal poop, as the smell was not strong. But what was it? And why wouldn’t it come off? I began to analyze this. It was on my right side of my body, linked with the masculine side, the logical industrious part of me. Why had tea spilled on me, was I being warned that I should look at my feet? Could it be that this was a metaphor that my life was really shitty and horrible, and I am amongst it at the moment? Was it a positive sign I should borrow from other traditions, that if a bird poops on you, it means good luck. It smelled like dead batteries or oil. I didn’t know what to make of it. I told my friend Isabella about this situation, and she said that growing up as a native Californian, it’s normal to step on tar on the beach. These are remnants of oil washed on sand. When I told her, I didn’t know how to analyze this in the meaning of my life, she said:
“Sometimes you step on tar, and it’s just tar.”
Or
“Sometimes you just step in poop.”
There may be no metaphorical or spiritual meaning to this, which is what I usually try to seek. It is what it is, and that is okay. It was a great reminder, that there are so many ways to view a situation: as a victim, from a spiritual perspective, analytical, metaphorical, or logical. All could be possible, or it could just be literal. Choice is yours.
It Only Takes A Smile 