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I Come into the Peace of Wild Things

by

“I Come into the Peace of Wild Things”*

Richmond Pond

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

It’s a restless time,
A fuzzy time
For me.

Too many words
Would be required
To explain—

The explanation?
The subtext?
The backdrop?

Each
One
Doesn’t
Even
Matter.

It will come
And
It will
Go,

This 
Slithering
Disconnection.
~~~

Today I choose
To remember
What
Connects
Me.

Today
I choose
To remind
Us
Of
Those
Wild 
Things.

Those fuzzy 
And furry
And
Feathered
Blessings,

Both
On
The
Couch
And
Outside
Our
Window.

The peace
Of wild things,

Says the 
Brilliant poet,
Wendell Berry:

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief.
I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light.
For a time
I rest in the grace of the world and am free.

~~~

Here are the visual and energetic reminders:

 

~~~
So much to say and nothing to say, about our relationship to these wild things.  

How we connect, 
How they connect us to ourselves?
Both outside our windows, 
And on the couch.

First, this little girl.  
How might my life be different, if, at that age, I had those friends?

~~~

Koko

Here are two dear beings who found each other, both now gone, Koko and Robin:

 

~~~
How to understand—forget understanding—how to even language our relationship with our critters, 
The ones we have been blessed with, 
The ones we have been 
Selected to steward?

The one snoring
On your couch?
Sleeping on the rug?
Drooling on the pillow?

My Wild Girl

She runs like a wild and crazy thing, 
Zooming down the trails, 
Returning wildly to her people 
Back for her “treats”, 
Off again to explore.

To find the treasures within the treasures, 
The smells within the smells, 
The bits of yum 
Inside the yummy.

How to even imagine
Her bliss
In being?

She sleeps in my arms,
Effortlessly 
Controlling the placement of 
Any and all bodies 
with her tiny one.  

She falls into sleep 
instantly, 
And breathes,
Soft belly
Pressed into mine,
Her breathe
And mine
Swaying,
Waltzing,
Hugging 
Through
The night.
~~~

Dear Friends,

With love and peace—

May the work we do
Alone and together
Benefit all beings.

May those on
Our planet
Most at risk
Find
Solace
And 
Safety
and
Home.

May the blessed
Critters
With whom
We share
This earth
Live
In safety
And
Grace.

All blessings,
Aruni

*Wendell Berry, The Peace of Wild Things

A Relaxation Meditation

by

A Relaxation Meditation


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

 

May this 
Holiday
Season
Unfold,

No matter 
What 
Is happening,

With

Rest,
Renewal,
And
Relaxation,

Inevitably
And 
Eventually.

~~~
To support you in the process of relaxing and renewing,

Here is a guided meditation.  Please receive this as a time to stop, to let go, to snuggle closer with yourself.

Savoring the moment…

A Relaxation Meditation

~~~

May the work
Of 
Wholeness
That
We do,

Both
Alone
And
Together,

Benefit
All
Beings—

Here
And
There
And
Everywhere.

May the highest
Unfold
For all,

Inevitably
And 
Eventually

May this 
Holiday season
Bring light
Into the world,

That we all
Might
Be blessed.

With gratitude,
Aruni

Rain of Blessings

by

“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,
What parts of yourself to you run from?
Do you hide from others?
Do you wrap in lesser-than,
In not-good-enough?

What might it look like,
To
Befriend them,

To
Welcome them,

To
Celebrate them?

They are doorways
To our wholeness.
~~~
As the days shorten and darken, as the holidays hover, let’s lean into the light.
Miten and Deva Premal are wonderful chanters who can lead us there.

Here’s a song from their new album, Miten—the Jungle Session.

At the end, please watch the extraordinary woman doing a prana dance.
This is our very own Kripalu teacher, Nina Crisp, a woman of grace and strength and fluidity.

Here are Miten and Deva Permal, with Rain of Blessings:

~~~
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
~~~

REMINDER

Grief, Loss & Renewal—Savoring Life’s Lessons

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

*Title comes from Miten and Deva Permal Song of the Same Name

And Bow Often

by

“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:

~~~
And secondly, from Playing for Change.
From our place of privilege and comfort, let us remember.

“On the International Day of the Disappeared, 
This is our tribute to the thousands of people who disappear
Every year due to armed conflict, violence, natural disasters
Or on the migration route.”

And I Still Haven’t Found…

~~~
Dear Friends,

One step,
One breath,
One thing
At a time.

Through
Simplicity of purpose,
Through
The
Lens
Of 
Radical kindness

May we find
Our
Way
Forward.

Stay blessed,
Aruni

*by Mary Oliver

Let Yourself be Heartbroken*

by

Let Yourself be Heartbroken*

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

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:

 

Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack, a crack, in everything.
That’s how the light gets in.

~~~
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:

~~~
Here is a fascinating and wonderful article and video, about a farm in Arizona that offers refuge from the aloneness of grief, creating a community of connection and compassion.

~~~
Dear Friends,
Strong back,
Soft front.

Strong
Back.

Soft
Front.

Strengthen
Yourself

While

Opening
Your
Heart.

Feel your feelings
While noticing
The
Beauty,

While
Noticing
The Grace.

They are intricately
And forever 
Intertwined.

We
Are
Intricately
And
Forever
Intertwined.

Dear friends,
Strong back.

And
Soft
Front.

Stay blessed,
Aruni

*Lama Rod Owens
https://www.lamarod.com/

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