Let's close our eyes.
Over the weekend,
I heard a word.
And somehow that word just resonated so strongly with me.
The word that I heard is harmony.
The sound of that word felt like nourishment to me.
The context in which I heard this word was the only metric that we have once we embark on this journey of meditation,
Self-inquiry.
It is how much harmony we have in our inner and outer lives.
So no one else can decide how good we are doing except us.
Whether or not we are in harmony inside and outside can only be answered by us.
So no one else can decide how good we are doing except us.
For everything else in our life,
We look at actual tangible metrics,
Something that can be measured,
Counted,
Kept track of.
And this is a very special area of our lives in which these metrics don't work.
You can measure how many hours you meditated,
How many books you read,
How many retreats you went on.
But nothing comes close to the actual question,
Are you in harmony?
Given how constantly we are in contact with other people in our lives,
Our families,
Friends,
Co-workers,
Our community.
What harmony emphasizes is a very special role that we play in our own life and in all the lives that we touch.
If we don't interact with anyone else,
Being in harmony is quite easy,
Doesn't mean much.
But that's not the lives we lead.
Every interaction we have with everyone is potentially an opportunity to feel a deep connection and share,
Cooperate,
Be open to this entire interaction.
Or to put up a wall,
A mask,
Shrink in our hearts,
Withhold,
Withhold effort or emotions.
Keep our interactions deep and meaningful or have acquaintances for small talk.
We have to be intelligent when we interact,
We have to be skillful,
Sometimes we have to be assertive.
Not everyone we interact with is there to take us for a ride.
We don't have to protect ourselves constantly.
No matter how many times we have been hurt in the past,
We have a choice to be open.
To see what it would be and what it would feel like to be in harmony.
I cannot quantify or define what harmony is.
But my heart knows what it feels like and so does yours.
Our hearts are not made to be closed.
The heart symbolizes the beacon of life.
It is life,
It fuels life.
It doesn't need protection as much as we think it does.
You can't contain a river or ocean for that matter.
Our hearts are like ocean.
We are designed to be open,
To flow,
To feel,
To reach out,
To connect,
To share,
To nourish whatever and wherever and whoever we touch.
If you can imagine yourself on a beach,
The waters are gushing,
The waves are crashing.
Your feet are barely getting wet.
The water is 75-80 degrees.
The weather is just right.
The sun is just rising.
Also,
What's happening in your heart?
In this expansive imagination.
Nothing to protect against.
Nothing to worry about.
Every time we go in nature,
On top of a mountain,
In a forest,
In a park,
Our hearts cannot be contained.
You can feel the ocean being stirred in your heart.
These are the places which are naturally designed for us to feel this way.
We could get used to that,
Being open.
Or we could choose to protect ourselves,
Protect our hearts.
The ocean can swallow anything.
It doesn't need any protection.
In order to even begin the process of being in harmony,
The prerequisite is to be open,
Carefree.
And if something is said,
Or something happens that can trigger,
That might trigger the closure of heart,
We can remind ourselves that we can swallow it,
Integrate it,
Just like an ocean swallows everything,
And everything becomes the ocean.
The ocean does not diminish.
We might realize that being in harmony might have a lot to do with giving,
Then receiving.
When our hearts are open,
By definition,
They are receiving.
And when we give,
We are nourishing everything that we touch.
If your heart is called out,
To explore this further by actually going somewhere in an open area and feeling the openness of your heart.
Don't hold back.
See if harmony is something that resonates with you.
And if it does,
It will find its way in your actions.
Thank you.
