Life is full of pull and noise,
Demands and detours.
Inhale.
Exhale.
See if you can let all that drop away.
Like stepping out of heavy,
Messy clothes.
Be.
Hear.
And breathe.
Inhaling.
Exhaling.
Welcome to a hit of hope.
There is a phrase in the Bible that says,
Possess the gate of your enemies.
That seems like weird advice.
Why wouldn't you want to possess the entire city where they lived?
Why just the gate?
To me,
This felt like advice designed to keep someone small.
To make someone doubt their abilities.
As in,
Don't imagine great things for yourself.
All you're capable of handling is a measly gate.
Inhale.
Exhale.
It's brilliant advice,
Actually.
Because often in these old cities,
There was one gate.
And everything passed through it.
Yes,
A gate is small,
But that makes it manageable.
If you possess that single gate,
You don't have to employ an entire army to keep the peace.
You simply need a handful of alert,
Strong and intelligent guards that wisely decide what will flow in and what will flow out.
Inhale.
Exhale.
This isn't as easy as it sounds.
Modern life bombards us from all sides.
We not only have to survive the natural world with its hurricanes and heat waves,
But the digital one as well.
One that has a surprisingly large population of trolls.
Many of us don't have to go out and hunt or gather our next meal.
But we live in a world where we can always be reached.
Where we have to construct a sassy and savvy self.
One obsessed with likes and terrified of missing out.
One who has to navigate pandemics and all of the other uncertainties that come with being alive right now.
Inhale.
Exhale.
If you are in charge of the gate,
Rather than feeling besieged and attacked from all sides,
You can live from a protected and secure place.
Controlling that single gate means you can influence everything else inside.
What is allowed to flow in?
Is it something that will bring harm like weapons or poison?
Or will it bring nourishment and joy,
Delight and meaning?
Inhale.
Exhale.
Not only that,
You get to decide what goes out.
Is it something that will aid the outside world?
Or will you lose a malicious horde,
Hell-bent on wreaking havoc?
Inhale.
Exhale.
Considering this idea of possessing the gate also creates the possibility of conserving your resources.
If too much is going out,
Temporarily lower the gate.
In other words,
Have you been pushing yourself to the limits lately?
Are you trying to make life perfect,
To get ahead,
To take care of everyone else but yourself?
Sometimes we have to close the gate and keep the world out,
Even if it's only for five minutes.
Or you know what will happen if we don't?
Life might come along and slam the gate down for us if we aren't careful.
Inhale.
Exhale.
There might be other times when we slam the gate shut to protect ourselves.
And rightly so.
We have tender selves and we need to make sure they feel safe.
And we need to be honest about when we close the gates because we are afraid of stepping out without our armor protecting every inch of ourselves.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Grounding.
Breathing.
Settling.
Those are all things that will give us the wisest guards of that gate.
Sit.
Center.
Trust your own power,
Your own wisdom.
And may joy and delight and abundance flow in and out of your life for the rest of your days.
Live Light.
