“Rain of Blessings”*

This blog post is also available on my Facebook page to make sharing it with friends and family easy for you to do.

I remember
Being in my early years 
Of sobriety
And attending
A Thanksgiving 
Gratitude meeting.

I can remember
Exactly
Where I 
Was sitting
In the room.

How many
Lifetimes
Ago?

And I remember
Thinking–

Oh,
Gratitude— 

I’m tired 
Of hearing
About that.

I
Want something
Something
More
Spiritual,

Something
More
More profound.

OH.
Dear.
Me.

In this 
Present moment 
Of cronehood,
I can excuse
The arrogance
And
Ignorance,
Of 
My
Youth.

I have grown
To believe
As Amrit Desai, 
(Gurudev) has said:

Gratitude is
The highest prayer.
~~~
I remember another 
Meeting,
Probably around
That same timeframe,
My pre-Kripalu,
Early sobriety days,
In the 
Mid-80’s,
In NYC.

I remember
Hearing a woman
Share
That 

Upon awakening,
She thanks the Universe
For all It will 
Offer her
That day.

I was appalled!
Shocked!
Horrified!

What if shitty things happen?

Shouldn’t one
Wait to see
The “kind”
Of experiences
One is given,

Before one
Offers
One’s 
Gratitude?

Oh.
Dear.
Me.

Another opportunity
To forgive the 
Youthfulness,

The
Lack of 
Understanding
Of me,

Me,
Back
Then.
~~~
More recently
In my adulthood
(phew),

I am practicing
Being grateful
For all of it.

For all in me.
For all around me.

Not just the positive
Aspects of myself.

Not just the successful,
Comfortable, funny
Things about me…

But my fear.
And my anxiety.
As well as
My
Shame.

To welcome each
Back home
Into the arms
Of my 
Own awareness,

Into the hug
Of my self-observation
Without judgment,

Into the embrace
Of my own
Self-kindness.

To be grateful for 
All of it.

Outside of me?

The same.

For the hard
As well as
The easy moments.

For the comfortable
As well as
The scary 
Interactions.

For the fear
As well as
The faith.

To be grateful
For all of it.

Inside of me.
And outside.

To be grateful.

~~~
Do you know the Japanese concept of kintsugi?

It is centuries-old art form which joins cracks in pottery with gold dust.

More than an aesthetic, it celebrates the philosophy of embracing and loving our human flaws.

The “repaired” bowls become more beautiful, more unique, more remarkable than their original form.

As we honor once-banished parts of ourselves, we, too, become more beautiful and unique and remarkable than our original form.

Here is an extraordinary video—thank you, Mary Ellen, for sending it on.
Singer-songwriter Peter Mayer performing his song, Japanese Bowl.

~~~
Dear Friends,

In gratitude 
For
What was.

In gratitude
For 
What is.

In gratitude
For 
What
Might
Be.

Inevitably 
And
Eventually

May we
See the blessings.

Best,
Aruni
~~~

December 2-4, at Kripalu Center

This program is both powerful and gentle, grounded in acceptance and transformation.

Please pass it on to anybody to whom it might serve.

Information Here

“And Bow Often”*

Moonrise over Pond

 

This blog post is also available on my Facebook page to make sharing it with friends and family easy for you to do.

As the leaves fall,
Curtains are 
Drawn open
Onto
The landscape.

More is revealed!

Leaves carpet
The earth
With musty,
Delicious-for-dogs
Delights,

Crunching 
Beneath
Boots.

Our world,
This glorious planet,
Stunningly alive
Now adorned
With vistas galore.
The giant moon
Dangles,
Rising over the pond.

The waves 
Dance
In the pond.

The geese overhead
Nosily,
Assuredly
Head home.

And bow often,
Says Mary Oliver.

And bow 
Often.
~~~
Meanwhile
The earth
Is
On fire.

Meanwhile
We push each other
Away 
With violence
And
Unimaginable 
Fury.

Meanwhile
Justice,
Equality,
Freedoms
Dangle
Incomprehensibly
Like
The 
Moon.

Meanwhile
The earth 
Is
On fire.
~~~
How do we live in both realities?

How do we 
Ride the waves
Of
The
Cognitive
Dissonance—

Natural beauty 
And
Injustice?
Stunning moonrise
And
Starving children?

Perhaps we
Just practice.

Perhaps
We
Bow
Often,

Being with
Whatever it is.

To all of it.
To all we are given.

Let us 
Practice
Being
With.
~~~
To acknowledge
Both realities
Of our world, 

Here are two 
Different
Pieces
Of
Inspiration,

Offering
Acknowledgement,
Appreciation,
Blessings
To all we are given.
~~~
First,
OH! Our Mary Oliver, When I am Among the Trees:

In how many ways,
For oh, so long,
Have we
Protected
Ourselves
From
Our
Own
Feelings?

In how many ways,
For oh, so long,
Have we run
From
Our
Fear?

From
Our
Heartbreak?

I certainly have.

I
Sometimes
Still 
Do.

Lama Rod Owens
Tells us:

“Let yourself
Be heartbroken.”

His invitation
Echoes.

His surety
Calms.

His
Clarity
Rings
Authentic.
~~~
I understand.

In my head,
I know.

Kripalu yoga
Off the mat
Teaches
Us
To
Be
Exactly
Where
We
Are. 

One moment,

One
Feeling,

One breath
At a time.

I know that.

Yet I get 
Scared,

So scared
To feel.

Let yourself be heartbroken,
~~~
I am heartbroken,

HEARTBROKEN
About the world.

The violence.
The injustice.

The cruelty and lies.

The overriding
Of
Reality
For personal
And
For
Political gain.

As a child of the 1960’s,
I am shocked,
Surprised,
Disappointed,
And
Profoundly,
PROFOUNDLY 
Heartbroken.
~~~
I thought
I really did,
I thought
We could change it.

I thought
I really did,
I thought
Peace and flowers,

Freedom and happiness
Were possible
For all.

For all.

I was wrong.

So far,
I was wrong.
~~~
Why bother?
Why feel?
Why?

Leonard Cohn says it 
Pretty darn succinctly:

 

~~~
When we feel our pain,
Our suffering,

We are able
To 
Feel
Others’.

When we 
Authentically
Connect
To ourselves,

We can
Then
Authentically
Connect
To others.

And the
World
Changes.

The world,
For that nanosecond,
Becomes
One.
~~~
Anthem, from the London concert: