In this space,
Take a breath.
Release it deeply.
Inhale,
Letting your belly fill.
Exhale and let it go.
Welcome to a hit of hope.
What has often been the case that it's hard to find ways to nourish our weary spirits has been even more true this past year.
And yet I have a feeling so many of us might be feeling even more drained,
Depleted,
And exhausted than usual.
I know I was,
But then I had a chance to go on a mini vacation recently.
It began in a city.
While it's always wonderful to be in a new place,
Two sites in particular arrested me.
The first was a statue of a young boy staring at his foot.
I passed by him multiple times and no matter how much traffic there was,
No matter how many lives walked right past him without even glancing in his direction,
There he was.
Engrossed.
Curious.
Still.
It was a great lesson in the beauty of being still.
Curious of what it looks like to sit and concern yourself with a single common thing.
To stay.
Stay.
Inhale.
Exhale.
The second thing that struck me was a sprawling dark green pond in the middle of a huge park.
It was a cold but sunny day so all of the koi hung near the surface of the water to get as much light and warmth as they could.
They looked like orange leaves swirling slowly in the currents and I couldn't tear my eyes away from them.
Inhale.
Exhale.
The second part of my mini vacation involved driving to a farm in the middle of nowhere.
Within an hour of my arrival I had seen Hammy the pig,
At least eight peacocks,
Five horses,
A duck that seemed to know everybody's business even though it was one of the few birds locked up inside a pen,
And tiny little peeper frogs that the horses hooves sent a-flying as the horses ripped up the fresh green grass at the edge of a pond.
I sat on a dock and stared at the electric green algae floating on top of the pond.
The sun sent sparks zinging across the surface of the water.
At first I thought it was bubbles bursting but no I still have no idea what was causing it.
But it didn't matter.
All I needed to do was sit.
Watch.
Staring as intently as the statue of the boy had been staring at his foot.
The oldest part of my brain whispered,
This is how you have been wired to live.
To be in the world.
And what I realized is that this had less to do with the where and more to do with the how.
It didn't matter if I was in the city,
In the country,
Or at home.
I could settle.
My body and my being could quiet down and soak in the light and life around me wherever I was.
The demands of your life might be taxing you as well and maybe you too are feeling as if you have nothing left.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Sit.
Take a day,
An hour,
Five minutes even to be here,
Fully here,
Wherever you're here may be.
Find something as familiar as your very own foot and let it be worthy of your undivided and quiet attention.
Grow quiet.
Be open.
Ready to welcome the light and the life.
Sit.
Breathe.
Be.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Namaste.
