Meditation Monday ~ 9/11
My cursor blinks before me.... reflecting on 9/11 there is so much on my mind. At times like this, the only solace I have is to drop into my heart. It's scary to go there. As much beauty and bliss that lives there, there are also broken dreams, bruised hopes, and daggers of disappointment. These aren't all my own. As my eyes see the pain that grows into anger and even into hate, it's hard not to absorb these feelings and make them my own.
For me Yoga was a true salvation. The invitation to see the world through the eyes of love is a daunting task. It was always easier to be pissed off than to really feel the depths of emotion that come with being embodied. Yoga was the first practice that asked me to rise above. To envision what I wanted to see and feel in the world --- and then --- go look for that. Looking through the eyes of love you will allow you to find it much more easily. It doesn't mean that you see and feel the crap that happens every day too. It just means that you decide which current you will ride. You decide what thoughts and feelings you will allow to take root in your heart and mind. You will decide what energy you will absorb most fully and more importantly ---- what energy you will allow to flow back out into the world around you. No --- it's not easy but as most challenging things are, it's worth the effort to feel more fulfilled, empowered, and connected in at least some small way to what feels right to your soul.
Today's practice is to look out into the world from a place of love. As if you were playing the classic game of "hide and go seek," look for love, kindness, and goodness. You will find it in the simplest of gestures which so often go unnoticed when we aren't paying attention to love.
I have no idea if this is a classic mudra or not. I came to practice it when I was coming up with a logo for an old handcrafted gifts business I used to run.You'll likely first it looks like a heart - right? Looking closer perhaps you will see the resemblance of the shapes of the uterus and ovaries. For me it is a symbolic reminder that if I want love to exist in the world, we have to send that energy out.
Each of us gives birth in a particular way a million times a day. Each action - each word - each thought that is reflected on our face, gives energy to our world. We make up the collective whole. If we want things to be better - we must contribute. Today and everyday, I make a pledge to do my best to see the good in the world. To drink it in to refresh my heart. And then do my best, knowing that I will often fall short, to be the love I want to feel in the world.
Love This Life® ~ Poem by David Culiner - after 9/11/01
LovethisLife...
is about celebrating the moment and that
we're not guaranteed or owed another day
and how cool it is that what we hide
can actually be the fuel towards our glory
and that it's not so bad being proven wrong
LovethisLife...
is about welcoming the blind turn
and the possibility that
there's no such thing as coincidence
and that empathy is incredibly sexy
and that it's never too late to
pick up a guitar or a paintbrush
or to make an amend or to make a new friend
LovethisLife...
could be about rekindling a past flame
or igniting a new one
or shapeshifting from a dreamer into a doer
or savouring the caress of a love long gone
LovethisLife...
means whatever it is you want it to mean because
LovethisLife...
is a celebration of you and your path
LovethisLife...
'cuz it could go at any second
you rock.