“Rest in reality” she said, and as an avid dreamer that statement hit me like a ton of bricks, quite in the way reality usually does.

I like living in the clouds. Romanticizing all the little details. Takin’ my sweet ol’ time, ya know?

But lately reality has been hittin’ me hard. It’s reminding me “Sweetie, you’re in a body. On a planet. There are rules here. Laws here.”

And suddenly I wake from my twilight anesthesia, drowsy, confused, like “what?”

“Yep. Rules, baby rules” it reminds me.

Sigh.

Anyway.

Rest in reality. Now that’s something I’ve been resisting like the plague.

But I am learning. Learning that IT IS WHAT IT IS SOMETIMES.

Expectations don’t always match reality. Life sometimes will do it’s own thing no matter how damn hard you try. You don’t always get what you want. You WILL feel pain. You will lose. You will get rejected. Your dream might not come true.

Yes, life is beautiful. But also, it is not.

So I just want to take a moment to honor and acknowledge that.

I am learning to accept, and dare I say, love what is. But let’s not get too carried away. I’m definitely not at the “loving it” stage yet. Not even close. I am kind of sort of learning — ya know? It’s been kinda like trying to learn to walk a tightrope while juggling flaming baseball bats with a weighted vest. It’s a circus right now.

In all seriousness though, it is indeed a beautiful skill to develop. To hold the grief in solid wisdom, bow to life in respect and give it a kiss in the forehead in reverence and say “I understand. I accept.”

Because as my good friend Silvia would say, “It is what it is.”