Before you continue, I invite you first to sit comfortably, perhaps light a candle, apply an essential oil blend or open a window to smell the fresh air. … … …
When you are ready, close your eyes and breathe deeply for a few minutes. As You inhale, RECEIVE a breath; it is there for you but do not take it, receive it. As you exhale, LET GO of anything that does not serve You. What this looks like practically speaking is this; exhale like a sigh, letting go of any worries, fears, anxieties or thoughts that do no serve You in this present moment. Let the space between each breath settle just enough to sense gratitude then inhale, perhaps even with a smile. No matter who or where you are, there is so much to be grateful for. There has never been, nor will ever be anyone just like You. You are here in this moment for a purpose. You are here in this moment because of those that came before you. Some of You are here in this moment having created those that come after you. We are all here as a consequence of our interconnectedness to each other. Now, just for nine breaths, BE in the fullness of each moment, each breath. There is nothing to do. Today is a day we have never seen before, each moment a mystery pregnant with all possibilities. And breathe…
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Change is life. Life is change. The last twenty years have brought such rapid change which has arguably affected every aspect of our lives. THAT we change is inevitable from the moment we are born. HOW we change is, to a great extent, up to each of us. The current pandemic serves as a reminder of the interconnection between ourselves and the natural world as well as our relationship to the spiritual world within and without through time. This is the Way of it.
Now I do pray history will ultimately tell the story of how we all came together during this time and with full understanding that our thoughts and words and actions and decisions matter because these are the energies that create reality. Chaotic as it is, this is an amazing OPPORTUNITY for us as humans, being. Like a COSMIC TIME OUT, yes, this is in part perhaps a massively uncomfortable and painful time, but we are also now being given an opportunity to STOP and consider the consequences of HOW we are BEing alive and on this planet in this moment.
As far as we know and in the vast history of the universe, humans have been around for such a sliver of time. Yet we are here. There is power in that little sliver. Perhaps we think we know and have conquered so much, that we are better off than before, that the way we are going is the way of progress. Certainly it’s one kind of progress if you count learning the hard way, progress. Etymologically speaking, even the word progress comes from the root meaning ‘to walk, go’. Well, learning to walk means sometimes falling down. And today, the stark evidence anywhere we look, points in the direction of falling down, the direction of STOP. We fall when we lose our balance. We fall when we don’t know our own boundaries. We fall when we think we know better and run away from the ones we are connected to just as sure as we fall when our desires outweigh our ability to temper them. As the aphorism goes, it’s not the falling down that counts, it’s the getting up. Ideally, this doesn’t mean getting up ready for a fight, doing the same thing over again expecting a different result. It means re-COGNIZING, re-thinking, re-MEMBERING who we are, who we are becoming and who we want to be as we stand. Our capacity to change is what makes all the difference as it allows us to rebalance, temper ourselves, think bigger thoughts. This is vital before we even begin to take a step forward. How we stand is, on every level, a measure of our VITALITY. The power in standing again comes from the power of life itself. It comes from remembering all the lessons we learned the easy way or hard, and by listening to the old ones who came before us, and how we might be poised to become recognizable as Humans to our young and vulnerable, that they may too learn something of themselves with time. How we stand in this moment is where the proverbial rubber meets the road. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s wonder about this for a moment.
What if we are here as a consequence of FORGETTING who we are, where we came from, and what our place is in the world. During this time of social and physical distancing, let us just stop, look and listen a while before we proceed. Let us understand how we got here in the first place, beginning with ourselves, in this very moment. This is what CHANGE asks of us as responsible humans being. Reacting to change is mindless, easy, immature, and often comes from fear or power. The energy of reaction is hasty, staccato and selfish. RESPONDING to change is relatively slower, emotions tempered, and requires thoughtful consideration for the greater good of all.
Washing hands out of fear of being infected is very different than washing hands out of a sense of responsibility and understanding that each interaction we have affects people we will likely never know. Think about this for 20 seconds while washing your hands. The action is the same, and if done properly, the hands are just as clean but the underlying energy of it is vastly different.
So just for today, let us stop and BE. Let us consider who we are and that our every thought, breath, word and action affects countless we may never meet. This is the power of PRESENCE.
In the coming days, I will wonder with you about some bigger thoughts. I pray you and yours are well and taking time to reflect during this time. Perhaps we will all learn a little more about ourselves and our capacity to respond. Because this is what is being asked of us now.
Peace and light,
Kelli