It's what we have. This life. When things get chaotic around me or in my brain, if I can remember to stop and check in, I can sometimes return to a serene place.
Checking in starts with taking a breath to slow me down. Then I do a little scan of my physical self noting where there is tension or pain in the body--often it's in my gut or lower back. Then, I do an inner scan to see what thoughts I'm obsessing over, what emotions are overwhelming me or are just out of reach.
Finally, and this is the coup de grace, I say these words: This is my little life. This is my house. This is my yard. These are my friends. This is my doggie.
This small exercise makes me feel safe within my own container. I feel grounded in my life.
When I was in college I wrote a poem that I never forgot. It had a line that went like this:
"My little loves, crickets, night, and death's surprise" tell me that I'm not in charge and neither are the laws and rules of this world. It went on to say: "They crucify. Christ and friends who understand and you and I, die." Kind of bleak, you might say, but it doesn't feel that way to me. To me it says that this world and all of us within it are, to use today's term, dysfunctional. It's part of the human condition, of being an innately spiritual being in a physical world.
How do we, all of us, begin to manifest spiritual principles like love and compassion in a physical world that values being the best over being together (to put it nicely). Survival of the fittest instead of the well being of the least fit. Oddly and counter-intuitively we do it by honoring our little life first. By seeking our own enlightenment first. Only then can we honor the lives of others and support their enlightenment.
So I start each day saying: This is my little life. Namaste. Roxie
Checking in starts with taking a breath to slow me down. Then I do a little scan of my physical self noting where there is tension or pain in the body--often it's in my gut or lower back. Then, I do an inner scan to see what thoughts I'm obsessing over, what emotions are overwhelming me or are just out of reach.
Finally, and this is the coup de grace, I say these words: This is my little life. This is my house. This is my yard. These are my friends. This is my doggie.
This small exercise makes me feel safe within my own container. I feel grounded in my life.
When I was in college I wrote a poem that I never forgot. It had a line that went like this:
"My little loves, crickets, night, and death's surprise" tell me that I'm not in charge and neither are the laws and rules of this world. It went on to say: "They crucify. Christ and friends who understand and you and I, die." Kind of bleak, you might say, but it doesn't feel that way to me. To me it says that this world and all of us within it are, to use today's term, dysfunctional. It's part of the human condition, of being an innately spiritual being in a physical world.
How do we, all of us, begin to manifest spiritual principles like love and compassion in a physical world that values being the best over being together (to put it nicely). Survival of the fittest instead of the well being of the least fit. Oddly and counter-intuitively we do it by honoring our little life first. By seeking our own enlightenment first. Only then can we honor the lives of others and support their enlightenment.
So I start each day saying: This is my little life. Namaste. Roxie
Thanks Anne for the good words. We have to have a long heart-to-heart soon!
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteA heart-to-heart sounds good to me. I'm not going to be at the reunion though, so maybe it'll have to be by phone. Love you