Downloads from the Divine

Coyotes are such tricksters.

For the past couple of weeks several of them have discovered the dog food or squirrel corn or birdseed outside my house and considered themselves invited over for an early breakfast. This feast quickly turns into a raucous party that rudely returns me from dreamland to a reality of yipping and yelling that makes the hair on my head, neck, arms, and legs stand up.

It is not a soothing sound.

Unfortunately it sets off a chain of events that unleash the same yipping and yelling inside my head. Then it's adios to the dream of sleeping in or sleeping at all. 

And then there are the cows.  "When exactly do the cows come home?"  you ask.  According to my calculations, at 4:21am.  That's when the cows across the river start bellowing to their young to call it a night.  Or at least stay away from the coyotes.

Instead of tossing and turning, dousing myself with Rescue Sleep, or sliding headphones into my ears to lull myself back to sleep, I've decided to blog.

It appears my muse not only likes to speak in riddles but she also likes to speak at 4am.  I've often considered that because these Downloads from the Divine, as I like to call them, happen at this bewitching hour, and I usually sleep through them. 

But thanks to the coyotes, the cows, and now the early birds, this morning I am ready for dictation.

These downloads are like koans, or teaching questions, that may or may not have answers but somehow leave the student a little more enlightened.

The following are just a few of the downloads I received.  They may not all be for me, but since I'm up, I'll write them down.  When you wake up, feel free to let me know if I missed any.

Here goes:

Would I rather be right or loved/free/happy?
What might be found, retrieved, or discovered today instead of lost?
What if difficult people are sent to teach instead of terrorize?
What if I allowed things to be the way they are, knowing I can't yet see the perfection in them?
What if I could recall 3 blessings for every curse?
What if I could remember compliments as vividly as criticisms?
What if I stopped expecting others to live up to my expectations?
What if I could express my anger in a way that is clean, clear, conscious, and concise?
What if instead of trying to craft a perfect blog post I just posed some questions?
Where might one small change make the biggest difference?
How would I feel if I ate a consistently healthy diet instead of a habitual one?
How can I gracefully accept this awareness of time passing and be fully present?
What if people are in therapy because of me?
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
What if the best thing to do at 5:30am is to go back to bed?