Tag: blessings

Blessings to All.

There’s a woman who stands at the corner of 11th and G, Northwest DC. She’s been there for years; her clothes tattered and worn through the many seasons of a system incapable of care.

She offers her smile, asking nothing in return. “Blessings for all,” she chimes to all those passerby. In spite of her ‘circumstance’ she’s become a continued source of joy.

She’s been there since she lost her only child, a son – off fighting a war over capital versus human gains.

I remember passing her one morning many years ago. “What’s wrong, love?” her face warmed with the light of an inner peace. I explained the ‘troubles’ of my life; the displacement of home, of family, of work.

“Sometimes I wish it could be just as it always was,” I said. Graciously, she permitted my rambling; my heart purging the details of ‘all that was wrong now.’

And, when I paused to take a breath – she asked, “Are you done?” Then pointed to a scene transpiring just beyond. A young woman and her toddler son, taking in the joy of a newly autumn day.

“You get one shot,” she smiled. “And then it’s gone.”

She didn’t have to say another word, because, it was then that I knew – these blessings of day, are a blessing to all.

A little something to consider, my friends…

“Blessings to all…”

Namaste ❤️

These Blessings of New.

Wild finches are gathered around the feeder this morning; partaking in the morning glories and a scoop of freshly poured optimism.

In the early light, their wings come alive – flashes of crimson and canary gold dancing against an azure blue sky.

Each morning, they visit me here – irrespective circumstance and absent the ‘story of day.’

Their hearts wishing no more, no less than this, just this: a simple pause for passion’s sake and opportunity to begin again.

Good morning, my loves ~ and a happy day to you; one replete with these blessings of ‘new’.

In peace…

Namaste ❤️

A Little Something About Breaking That Jar.

There’s a Zen parable about an old man and a swan; a bird so lovely, he placed it within a glass jar upon the highest shelf, and for all the world to see.

The old man cared dearly for the swan; sharing each day, these lessons of life and of love. And, in order that she may one day know the true joy of her own existence.

But, as the swan grew, she soon became too large for the glass jar. Desperate to keep things just as they were, the old man held her there – fearful that the loveliness of his swan might soon be lost. Though, sadly, what he failed to realize was that – who and what we love eventually grows.

Particularly, when tended with such loving-kindness and care.

Because, my darlings, true love can never be contained; like a wildflower it blooms even against the heaviest of rains.

In the end, the only way to truly ‘save’ her was to find courage enough  to shatter that ‘jar.’

It’s often with good intention that we set out to protect that which we love most of all. But, in doing so – aren’t we inadvertently sealing their hearts from the rest of this world?

Though, more tragically, is when we attempt to shield our own in much the same way. As Dr. Rachel Remen once so poignantly asked,

“Is it possible to live so defensively that you never get to live at all?”

Much like the old man, we place our hearts upon the highest shelf, never once realizing that…like the baby swan – it, too, will soon outgrow the limitations of this space.

“We begin to survive at the cost of thriving,” offers author, Mark Nepo, “we exist at the cost of living and give into resignation instead of seeking joy again.”

Until we finally ask ourselves: “do we risk all that we have, in order to live fully once again?”

This Light of Our Blessings.

“If not now, then when?”

I remember first asking this question of myself. It was a summer evening, about mid-June and the air was thick with introspection.

“If not now, then when?” Never before had such a point been so perfectly illustrated. And, as I ran my finger along the splintered door frame, I knew “when” had to be “today.”

Sometimes it takes moments just like this, to forever fix these messages to soul.

Time can be an awfully misleading thing. In our hearts, we feel the tug of tomorrow – but, in reality all we ever really have is today. And, if we’re lucky, a sense of knowing that this moment shall never pass this way again.

“If not now, then when?”

And though, I’m not entirely sure what changed… I will say, in that split second of a micro-instant, the idea of ‘forever’ was seared from my brain.

And, a magnificent new truth came to be.

For in that moment, I realized – that I no longer needed the crutch of someone else’s affirmation. Nor, did I ever again feel compelled to offer my reason why.

This moment was my “why” –  and, within it the single-most compelling reason for my heart to come alive.

And, oh my goodness – how it came alive.

I began to live my truth; to express my love in ways that I hadn’t before understood – unconditionally, and without exception. I metaphorically ‘kicked off my shoes’ – and began reaching for the lessons of those much simpler days…

When days were measured in leaps over streams, and courage found amongst the highest limbs. And knowing, that nothing is ever worth the ‘trade’ for this day.

So, live your truth, my darlings. Take long walks, kick off your shoes – and, take trains to places you’ve never been. Let the grass tickle your feet; find the smoothest rocks that have ever been.

And, at the days end – look up to the stars and remember, there’s a bright light shining for each of your blessings.

It’s all right there, I promise you, my darlings – a single point of immeasurable joy, reflecting back the light that is you.

And, just waiting for you to believe.

Namaste, my loves ~ on this day, I wish you the light of these blessings.

<3

Through This Single Patch of Sky.

My darlings, what would you do if you were given only weeks to live?

Would you spend every moment locked in despair, or – would you step fully into the remaining life that you had?

It’s an interesting question, and one raised in a beautiful posting by the venerable Thích Nhất Hạnh; one which begs our awareness within every single moment.

“Don’t wait to start living. Live Now!” he urges. “You can live each moment deeply, in touch with the very wonders of life.”

And so, with each ‘living moment’, I strive to live deeply. Why, even something as simple as an early morning walk can become suddenly filled with opportunity – to see, to touch, to experience, to breathe in the full richness of this life.

Awareness, my darlings, must always be our practice, and living deeply – our fundamental purpose.

In his novel, The Stranger, Albert Camus shares the story of Mersault – a ‘detached and soulless’ man who has just learned that he shall soon be executed for the crimes he has committed.

In his despair, he collapses to his prison bed, and – looking upwards – for the first time notices a single patch of blue light; a square of blue sky peeking through the skylight.

“The sky is so blue,” shares Brother Thay. “it’s the first time in his life he’s gotten deeply in touch with the blue sky. He has already lived for five decades without ever really seeing the blue sky. Perhaps he has looked at the sky from time to time, but he not seen it in a deep way. Now, three days before his death, he is able to touch the blue sky in a very deep way.”

Ironically, in the end it is Mersault’s realization (and acceptance) of his own impermanence, which offers him the greatest freedom he has ever known.

For, through this single patch of blue – he has, for the first time, come alive.

Life is pure joy, my dearest darlings. And, within each precious moment there exists a ‘patch of blue sky’…simply waiting for our senses to reply.

That we might one day know the greatest blessings of this life.

 

We Are Who We’re Meant to Be.

[blockquote source=”Unknown”]”I am me. I’m who I’m meant to be. I am my past, my present and who I want to be. I’m not anyone, I am all three. I am a work in progress, a destiny. I am who I choose to be. I am me.”[/blockquote]

My dears, some very wise words, indeed…

We are not our circumstances…

We are not our missteps and misfortunes…

We are not our tragedies and/or our miracles…

We are, my dears…precisely what we *choose* to be – a most spectacular blessing of life, and in spite of all our goings on.

In every day, we face these choices – a spiritual crossroads of sorts. The bottom line, your reflection of ‘me’ – is all in who you choose to become.

Don’t let passing moments define your future sense of inner calm; be grateful…be humbled…and step into the beauty that is you.

Because, the truest miracle of this life takes hold in all these, the littler things.