One of the definitions of arrive is to land.
Land here,
In this now,
Arriving in your body with your breath.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Welcome to a hit of hope.
I recently read something in Yogic Philosophy that's gotten stuck in my craw.
It talked about how we get our adjectives wrong.
If you've ever listened to me before,
You know I have a thing for words.
So this idea intrigued me.
The author argued that we should not say gold ring.
Rather,
We should say ringy gold.
Because the gold is the constant.
Ring is simply the form it has taken on for the time being.
Inhale.
Exhale.
What this author is saying is that we get caught up in the wrong thing.
We worry about the external form,
Focusing on that,
When in fact,
What we should be paying attention to are the persistent qualities.
What are those things that do not change,
Though the forms might be multiple?
Inhale.
Exhale.
If this is confusing,
This might help.
I was in my local co-op buying my blue eggs the other day when I spied a table of jewelry.
I have a thing for rings.
My grandfather would buy me turquoise rings every time I went to visit him,
And I have loved them and all other manner of rings ever since.
On this table in the co-op were rings that had been made out of old sterling cutlery.
What was once spoons and knives were now rings and bracelets.
The form had changed from spoon to ring,
But the silver stayed the same.
Inhale.
Exhale.
My students have recently been writing papers about the dangers of social media.
Their papers are full of the problems like fear of missing out,
Body dysmorphia,
An unachievable need for perfection,
And insatiable addiction to being liked.
While these desires may feel new,
I would argue that they are the same utterly human and absolutely familiar desires that we've always faced as humans.
They've just taken on a new form.
Inhale.
Exhale.
As a human,
You will be inundated with desires.
That's what's happened to us since the beginning of the human race.
And notice that phrase.
Human race.
You can get lost in the competition,
In the sense of struggle,
The exhausting climb up the hierarchy.
Inhale.
Exhale.
But you do not have to be a hostage to those desires.
You can practice learning how to live free right here and now by focusing on those qualities that never change.
Turn away from the ever-shifting cacophony outside.
It wants to lock you into a form where you are constantly afraid and persistently uncertain.
Turn down the volume on the voices clamoring to tell you how you fall short.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Go in.
Turn down to that quality inside of you that is pure gold,
Your unchanging and spacious center.
Go in to the quiet,
Steady,
Living presence.
Go in.
Arriving in that welcoming place where you are beloved,
Where you are celebrated,
Where you are enough,
Okay,
Centered and whole,
Free and shining bright.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Live Light.
