Artwork by Harsh Malik
Hello Precious Siblings ~
There is an old teaching from both the Hindu and Buddhist traditions that says we are each a shining diamond, a shimmering dew drop in the warp and weft of the web of the world. Our embodied presence at the meeting place of time and space is unique. That means it only happens ONCE…we only happen once in all of time and space. This moment, this life is precious and what we do with it has ramifications and ripples throughout the web. So, as Mary Oliver asks us in her beautiful poem Summer Day, “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”.
One of my clients says this to herself…Feel it, don’t fix it…this is how she reminds herself that the way to navigate life with the most presence and possibility is to show up for what is here and now. Not to dismiss it, try to fix it (in herself or others), or bypass it with the proclamation that’s it’s all good! But to feel and be with the fullness of what shows up in our field…the grief, the frustration, the delight, the awe. We need to build the capacity to be able to be with discomfort and difficulty, trusting that it won’t overwhelm us and that by being with it we actually are showing up for life fully. And that it actually takes less effort, time and energy to presence ourselves than to try to ‘manage it’. In this way we presence the wild and precious life that is moving through us, around us and is us!
When we allow life to move through us it then doesn’t get backed up and cause a hemorrhage or tidal wave through the whole fabric of the web of life…it waves and ripples and and doesn’t break so easily. We don’t break so easily! So how do we build the capacity and ability to feel it all when there is so much to feel and so much of it is hard and heartbreaking? We take it on as a practice and a commitment…we find folks who can help hold it with us, we learn practices and tools that stabilize and support us, we show up with a willingness to trust the full gamut of life, even if we don’t like it much. This is the invitation of life in the web of being and in that way we tend the web and care for ourselves and each other.
No one else gets our particular vantage point of life through a human body so it is up to us to show up for all the nuances and challenges and possibilities that arrive moment to moment.
May we find ways to allow the intensity of life to flow through us
May we tend the web of life by showing up for all that is offered
May we offer the gift of feeling it and not fixing it, in ourselves and in each other
May we bring wild blessings and fierce love to all we encounter
Practice Prompts:
- Wherever you are right now, take a moment to drop the anchor of your awareness back and down into your body and the earth. Take a moment to re-orient to this time and place through your senses. Then check in and simply ask what am I feeling right now? What is my emotional state…mental state…physical state? See if you can allow yourself to be with what is here, whether it is pleasant, unpleasant or neutral, for some time. And if that feels like too much, consider what would support you in growing your container…sharing with a friend, asking for support, going out into outer nature? Be curious and willing and notice if you allow space for it does it shift or change in any way?
- Consider the practices that allow you to have greater capacity for life…walking in the trees, sharing in a supportive circle, meditation, therapy, song circles, dance spaces, etc. Are you actively cultivating these spaces and if not, how do bring them back into the fold. Or are there others that feel more pertinent right now?
- Explore with me, in-person in Bend, Oregon, and virtually all over the world. These sessions are centered on supporting you finding nervous system capacity and resiliency through various practices including but not limited to Somatic Experiencing®, Continuum Inquiry and various embodying practices. Respond to this email or schedule a free 20 minute Exploratory Session.
Practice Opportunities:
In Person:
Virtual:
- Yoga for Resilience, Mondays, 9:30-11am PT, livestream through Body of Insight
- All Levels Yoga, Sundays…Aug 2 & 23, Sep 6 & 20, 9:30-11am PT, livestream through Two Dog Yoga
Inspirational Wisdom
HOW CAN I BE HAPPY WHEN THERE IS SO MUCH WRONG IN THE WORLD?
A wonderful answer by a Buddhist monk:
A man once asked an old Buddhist monk:
“How can I allow myself to feel happiness when the world is full of suffering, war, injustice, pain, and loss?”
The monk looked at him with compassion and asked:
“If your mother was sick, would you stop eating?”
The man looked confused.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because then there would be two people suffering instead of one.”
The monk smiled.
“Exactly.”
Then he continued:
“Many people believe that carrying the weight of the entire world on their shoulders is compassion. But often, it is only another form of suffering.”
The man lowered his eyes.
“But every day I see bad news. I see people struggling. I see cruelty. And I feel guilty whenever I experience joy.”
The monk nodded. Then he pointed toward a small flower growing through a crack in a stone path.
“Look at that flower. It grows in a world of storms. It grows in a world where leaves fall, animals die, and winters come. Yet it still blooms.”
The man stood silently.
The monk continued:
“The flower does not ignore suffering. It simply does not allow suffering to stop it from expressing its nature.”
Then the monk asked:
“If every kind-hearted person became hopeless…who would remain to help others?”
The man’s eyes widened.
The monk continued:
“The world does not need more exhausted souls. It needs more people with enough peace inside them to share it. Enough hope to inspire it. Enough strength to carry it.”
The man whispered,
“So being happy is not selfish?”
The monk smiled gently.
“No. Selfishness is turning away from suffering. Happiness is keeping your heart open despite it.”
Then he added:
“Be grateful for your meal. Call your parents. Help your neighbor. Smile at a stranger. Be kind to someone who is hurting. You do not heal the world by carrying all its pain. You heal the world by reducing the pain you touch.”
Tears filled the man’s eyes. For the first time, he understood. His happiness was not a betrayal of those who suffered. It was fuel for helping them.
And the monk said one final thing:
“Protect your inner peace. Because a candle that burns itself out cannot give light to anyone. A peaceful heart is not escaping the world…it is serving the world in the most powerful way possible.”
