Another Song of Freedom*
How complicated, yet how simple:
We all belong to each other.
From the poem, Reunion
By Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
I read this line by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer earlier in the week. It has lived loud and vibrant in my heart throughout these past days. It is so ridiculously simple, she tells us. We are one. Period. Conversation over.
When I came to Kripalu 522 years ago, I was obsessed with trying (oh, so hard) to understand What Yoga Was. What Yoga Is. I remember the pretty simple definition we arrived at early in my junior study group:
Yoga. The yoke that unifies body, mind and spirit in a person
Yoga. The yoke that weaves individual awareness into universal consciousness
Yoga. The yoke that binds us all together.
How simple, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer says. We are one.
Simple? Because it’s just true. Simple? Because it is the state of things naturally. Simple? There isn’t much to do to make it happen. It is already happening. How simple.
Yet as Rosemerry says, it is complicated, too. Complicated? Why is it complicated? Because we’re too obsessed with our own toys to notice one another. Complicated because we are too complacent. Complicated because we are too distracted. Complicated because we are too well-fed, on many levels.**
Damn.
Let me share the flow of my week. After muttering to myself for a few days about the Trommer’s quote, I then randomly listened to Redemption Song, by Playing for Change, the non-profit whose mission it is to weave musicians from all over the world into shared music, into shared song. The song deeply resonated for me.
Redemption. Hum. What does that mean, I pondered.
Redemption = the act of making something better, saving someone, or buying back something that was lost or sold.
So much has been lost in our culture, in our politics, in our relationships with each other, with ALL OF THE EACH OTHERS that we are. So much divisiveness. So much split.
Redemption. What is the world in which I choose to live?
One in which—
- All people are included.
- All differences are honored.
- All beings are respected.
- All people are safe and protected.
- All people have complete access to full and equal rights.
And today? How do we get there today? What’s one thing we can each do today to begin to redeem each of our worlds?
I can refrain from voraciously swearing at the Apple verification process that is doubting that I am actually me and hence righteously denying me access to my own data. Not helpful. I can refrain from muttering at the tourist driving 22 miles below the speed limit on MY ROAD. Also, not helpful.
I can reach out to my friend Annie, who is finding her way after her husband’s death. Potentially redeeming. I can call that family member that triggers me and be present with kindness, as best I can. Potentially redeeming.
Redemption. In a sliver of an action. In a nanosecond of a day. Simply a tiny reversal of the status quo, a tiny redeeming of what has been lost.
What about you?
What direction can you lean into, to bring redemption into your world right here and right now?
~~~
How perfect this song, nothing random about it after all. Here is Redemption Song by Playing for Change, featuring Steve Marley. Listening and watching the musicians in this song, from all over the world, singing in one voice, each from their unique culture, their unique world, while connecting and creating this song together, all voices one voice, all hearts becoming one.
All voices one voice.
All hearts. Becoming one.
Friends,
Let’s request
Patience and tolerance
For practice of
Healing our bodies,
Patience and tolerance
For the practice of
Quieting our minds,
Patience and tolerance
For the practice of
Opening our hearts.
Patience and tolerance,
Fully
Granted.
It is our
Birthright.
May all beings benefit from our shared words.
Stay blessed,
Aruni
~~~
*Another Song of Freedom—lyric from Redemption Song by Bob Marley.
**Paraphrased from This Week—The Best of The U.S. and International Media, Volume 26, Issue 1299, Page 3, Editor’s Letter.