Life is precious, right? The life force is powerful, tenancious, and yet fragile as well. We come and go so quickly! People say carpe diem, we say don't take it for granted, though - of course everyone does take for granted, at times, this miraculous, exasperating experience of ensouled, animated bodies and minds. Yes? I say yes.
The idea that any one of us has the capacity to stay in a place of mindful appreciation for our temporary lifetimes clashes with what this experience is all about. Nothing stays put, does it? It really doesn't. All is change. The best I can hope to do is notice when I've become complacent, at which time (if I'm really in a benign mental state) I can gently guide myself back to mindful appreciation. If I'm not feeling generous, I tend to scold myself first, then shove my mind/heart back into appreciation. It's not the most graceful way, I admit.
External happenings can be helpful triggers for mindfulness. When people are killed in tragedies like the tornadoes that devastated parts of the American midwest recently, I remember instantly that the only realistic point of view is empathy and gratitude. This morning I'm thinking of two dear ones who are facing the imminent deaths of family members. Because the reality of our existence is right in my face, I'm able to feel so much love and compassion, gratitude for my good health and good fortune, sadness that my dear ones are facing the messy, uncontrollable, unfathomable situation of loss and grief. My love for these two people is a great teacher, helping me return again and again to "the truth." Life is so short and so very sweet.
Love is a powerful teacher. I used to be afraid of it, because feeling love can be embarrassing, humiliating and very painful at times, especially when I'm in a mood to judge who/what I love, which is often, I should mention. Just recently I've decided to relent, let it pour through me in whatever form it chooses. What the hell. Why not?
7 comments:
We really are here for only a short time - even if it's 100 years. In the whole scope of things - those 100 years go by pretty fast. My MIL is 98 and she says it was a wild and wonderful ride.
when you lock love out out of fear of being hurt then you miss all the good things it brings into your life as well. yes, love can be painful sometimes, but that's life. life can be painful, are you going to lock out life? and life is chaos, ever changing, unpredictable. so is love.
True, dat (what you both said).
Ellen, the pain of love isn't what scares me, it's the possibility of feeling embarrassed or that the love I'm honestly feeling is innappropriate. My ego is expansive! Yikes.
Just beautiful !!!!!
Life is precious, and in a Walt Whitman-esque, or Mary Oliver-like way this is one of my favorite realizations. But it's pretty hard to maintain this euphoric sense of appreciation; the daily routine sometimes takes over.
When big difficult changes occur I find myself thinking "what has actually shifted here, and what remains comfortingly unchanged?" Thank goodness there is always some solid ground somewhere to keep one from keeling over. If everything changed simultaneously and at the same rate, we'd all go crazy.
reya, i've so much to learn from you. thanks for opening. steven
Steven I learn from you EVERY DAY. Every day, literally. Thank you.
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