the best of times, the worst of times...

Life feels like a constant paradox right now.  Or maybe it's a lesson on staying to the middle.... or not being attached to results... or maybe it's the age old 'life's a bitch and then you die' syndrome.  Just kidding... kinda.

Last weekend we sat on the new deck remarking on how private our hill was.  We couldn't see the neighbors, they couldn't see us.  Perfect Feng Shui.  The very next day, as Barry was buying all the lumber to make a little meditation house, bulldozers arrived next door.  They ripped out every tree, every bush, every flower on their hill, intending to build a series of 10 foot walls for .... what? We can't fathom. It was heartbreaking, we've been here for 25 years, we watched the little old lady plant all those daffodils and tend to her azaleas.. sigh. Even worse, for the first time ever, we have a clear view of their entire house and vice versa.  They even cut all the branches on our trees that hung into their yard! Take paradise.....

This past weekend we finished 'Spirit Shack', our little house project on our hill.  It's beautiful, it's peaceful, it's brilliantly filled with energy.  It was sooo hot all weekend while we were building and clearing and staining the wood. All we could hear was the constant grinding of trees and beeping of bulldozers.  During our Reiki Share Sunday afternoon, the blessed thunderstorms finally came and the weather cooled (and the killers of nature had to go inside).  Barry and I sat up in our little house, sharing some wine, breathing in the breeze, it was so lovely.

I switched my yoga schedule this week to one that I think is much more pleasing to my students and is great for me.  I stacked my classes so I could be home Tues/Weds afternoons & evenings, giving me the chance to actually cook dinner for my family and get some of my much delayed projects done.  I was so excited Tuesday after a great yoga class to begin some overdue gardening in my back yard and to decorate my new little house.  The weather was gorgeous, breezy, low humidity and cool, I was elated!  I opened all the windows in the house, gathered my supplies and ventured out.  Into a cloud of exhaust, dust and horrendous sound.  All day. Until 7:30pm.  Around 6pm, after a wonderful dinner, Barry and I went up to our little house to try and relax. To the smell of exhaust and the constant beeping and grinding of their machines. I finally lost my cool and started spouting profanity.

Now, I'm not saying my neighbors don't have the right to decimate their back yard if they want to.  And I'm sure they must have some master plan that isn't evident. But after 10 days of this I am ready to forget all my yoga training and go open a can of whup-ass on them.  I mean, honestly... I feel like I'm living next to a freaking construction zone.  And to add insult to injury, when the construction workers finally left, their little brat fired up their overly big, overly loud and smelly riding lawn mower (in Bowie, I mean, who does that?) to ride around their dirt filled yard. I could just scream over and over and over and over.  This morning 8am... it starts again. They are probably not even a third of the way done.  I can't listen to this every day, I will go completely nuts.  What to do?

We have worked for 25 years to create a beautiful, serene sanctuary for the wildlife, for our friends, for our family.  The contrast between our yards is shocking.  Why would people move next door to a home obviously lived in by nature lovers if they hate nature?  But as I have learned in my life, I can't control others... only my reaction to them.  And since my nature doesn't really allow me to open a can of whup-ass, I mean, I don't even know where you would buy a can of whup-ass, I must go within.

So, God? What's the deal?  What's the lesson here I'm missing?  I didn't accidentally pray for tolerance did I?  Cause if I did, I was just kidding....