What a Trip
You can be doing the work and still feel deep sadness.
You can be doing the work and still lack self-trust.
You can be doing the work and still miss red flags.
Growth is a daily practice.
Show yourself grace.
~~~
I love this quote. And truly…what is the deal? Why is it so hard to give ourselves a break, to just do our best, and keep moving onward? This being human—what a trip.
What is practice anyway?
The dance between remembering and forgetting,
The repetition of an attitude, a skill, with consistency and kindness.
The balance between compassionate awareness and loving rigor.
The creating of circumstances in which space and time are available for self-connection.
What do I practice anyway?
Most essentially, most foundationally,
I practice being with what I am given.
In that day. In that moment.
That which I resist,
That which I want
To be different
Separates me from Grace.
Yesterday I waited six-and-a-half hours for the AAA pickup guy.
I was unable to believe that I couldn’t speed up that process.
I was not able.
I spoke to Every Possible AAA Humanoid serving Western Ma.
I tried.
To frustrating avail.
Meanwhile, I was sitting in my kitchen.
I was not standing on a screeching highway.
The urgency was mine, not driven by external circumstances.
It was not a fun day.
I was trying so hard, running my world, and it didn’t go well.
My practice is to remember (no matter how much I forget)
That I am not running the world.
AAA taught me that.
I practice prayer
Not to change reality,
But to soften around it.
I practice remembering
All is okay
No matter what is happening.
I practice walking mantra.
I practice writing!
This. These. Blogs.
My mirrors.
I practice conscious contact
With that
That is not me.
I practice living imperfectly,
Abiding my humanity.
As I can,
I relax for a nanosecond there,
And
I am free.
What is Grace anyway?
Synchronicity.
Harmony.
Ease.
Beauty.
Acceptance.
How do I show myself Grace?
I take good baths!
I listen to the birds.
I hug my dog.
I watch the clouds.
I talk to kind people.
I bless myself when I can.
I find gratitude for what is.
When I can’t, I try again.
Eventually.
Inevitably.
~~~
So dear friends, two questions for you, to ponder, to consider:
What do you practice?
How do you show yourself Grace?
~~~
Okay. This song, I imagine, has been zooming around the Web.
If you have heard it before, listen again. You must. No decision needed.
Do it.
It’s four minutes. You deserve it.
If it is new to you, listen for four minutes.
You deserve it.
We deserve it.
It is alive with both music and message.
Powerful.
Timely.
Hopeful.
Did I just say, hopeful?
I did.
~~~
Folks,
Let’s together request kindness.
First, for ourselves.
See ourselves, see yourself, wrapped in the arms of loving kindness.
See ourselves, see yourself, practicing, doing your best.
See ourselves, see yourself, gentle and easy,
You with You.
And then—
See ourselves, see yourself, becoming a beacon of that kindness.
Taking it with you.
Offering it to others.
To all.
Not willfully.
Not effortfully.
But energetically.
But spontaneously.
Let’s see ourselves, see yourself
A beacon of kindness
On this glorious planet
Of ours.
May all beings benefit from our time together.
Blessings, all—
Aruni