In my neighborhood we have at least two Red-Tailed Hawks that live with us–in the wild, of course! Yesterday, I was taking a break from working and was gazing out the window. It was a beautiful sunny, early fall, day–the leaves with a hint of color and a powder blue sky decorated by a few beached white clouds. As I was taking in the scene, I noticed one of our resident hawks lazily circling on the air currents.
My first thought about the hawk was: Not a care in the world; just effortlessly gliding along.
This got me to thinking….
How many times do we worry and fret, allow our stomachs to knot up, and then we end up losing sleep because of something gnawing at us? More than that, though, how many times does that issue resolve itself and, on its heels, another one comes along…starting up the whole worry process again? If we aren’t careful, this cycle of worry can go on for years–decades, even–firmly entrenching itself as a habit pattern–a bad habit pattern.
We can take a lesson from the hawk as it was ‘just hangin” on the air currents. Perhaps it was hungry and eager for a meal. Instead of fretting about it and flapping its wings all over the place and squawking and carrying on, it was just hangin’, gliding through the air.
As it circled, the hawk probably had its eyes open and was attentive to what was happening on the ground (the most likely location of its meal), but it was probably alert to other opportunities that might come along–keeping its options open (for instance, it could have grabbed a bird in mid-flight)!
Then, as I watched, the hawk altered its pattern. It folded its wings and swooped below the tree line into the meadow beyond. I imagined that the hawk’s choice of just hangin’ and being open to the possibilities paid off in the form of a tasty meal.
Like the Red-Tailed Hawk, as we move toward our dreams, we can relax and just hang, being open to what comes along. When an opportunity does present itself, we can swoop in and take advantage of it!
Your homework today is to take time to just hang. That doesn’t mean to veg-out like some sort of zombie. It means to suspend judgment and worry and, in a relaxed state, observe what’s going on around you. When you spot something that can help you move forward toward your dreams, take action!
You can do it!
I’m proud of you!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
Yes I Can Pep Talks 
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